Rules of Engagement
by WarlordFil
Summary: ODST Major Evan Doucette thought he was prepared for the challenge of being the first Human Ambassador to Sanghelios. He had no idea the position came complete with a Sangheili bride... Human male/Elite female. COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1: The Silent and the Brave

Author's Note: This, like "Blood Shadow," is one of my side projects that will update sporadically as I have time away from my main storyline to add to it.

This is a story with male Human/female Sangheili romance. It was written in response to a challenge by a reader who has noticed that the majority of interspecies fanfics are about male Sangheili and female Humans. So, for everyone who wants to see chicks with mandibles, this is for you. On the other hand, if you are saying "ick, _ick_, ICK" right now, you'll probably want to go read something else.

**Rules of Engagement**

**Chapter the First**

Major Evan Doucette had not considered himself the ambassadorial type. He was a career ODST, not a politician, and it had rocked his world when his higher-ups had told him that they had selected him to be Earth's very first ambassador to Sanghelios.

Evan was young for a major, but in a war as bloody as the recently concluded battle with the Covenant, people got promoted very quickly. Thirty years old, with sandy brown hair and the sort of muscular physique that just came with a job as demanding as jumping out of spaceships for a living, Evan had spent his entire adult life serving his planet and his species as a soldier in the UNSC. Now Evan found himself aboard the Covenant…no, the _Sangheili_ ship _Boundless Grace_, bound for the planet of Sanghelios.

Evan knew he would be returning to Earth at some point in the future, but he had no idea when. He had not thought he would miss it: he had served on Reach and Chi Rho and aboard the UNSC cruiser _Make My Day_; all of these were more his home than Earth was. And he had no family left on Earth, or anywhere else. But somehow, the knowledge that he was about to leave Human-held space to live in an alien civilization had him already missing the familiar sights and sounds of…

…no, not just Earth. Of _humanity_.

He was not entirely alone—there were some other Humans on the ship with him, all volunteers, travelling to Sanghelios to serve as his support staff—but they were all going to be living a long way from Human civilization. The Sangheili were Humanity's allies now, but alliance was not the same as friendship, and it was definitely not enough to make an outsider belong.

The Sangheili recognized this simple fact as much as he did. He had been assigned a pair of Sangheili bodyguards, Relu 'Chavam and Lor'n 'Malach, to protect him from Sangheili who might still be bitter about their long years of warfare against Humans, or nursing xenophobic grievances against a "lesser" species like Humanity. Every member of his team had a pair of Sangheili guards as well, but his had the most impressive credentials: Lor'n was a decorated veteran and former member of the Lights of Sanghelios honour guard, while Relu was previously the Captain of the Guard of the old and wealthy Chavam Keep. Evan liked to think that he could protect himself, but he had to admit, he felt a lot better at the prospect of facing Sangheili assassins with Lorn's energy sword and Relu's battle staff beside him.

The Arbiter had also tasked a retired Sangheili, a former warrior, to be his advisor. Lak 'Vadam was an older Sangheili, allegedly a relative of the Arbiter. Lak had been meeting with Evan on a daily basis in the hopes of smoothing over possible difficulties in advance of Evan's arrival on Sanghelios.

In past meetings, Lak and Evan had discussed everything from air conditioning (the temperature in Iruiru could get hot enough to give a human heat stroke for most of the year, and there would be months when Evan would need to stay indoors where it would be cool) to Sangheili cultural taboos to public holidays. Yesterday there had been a long discussion about Evan's diet. Sangheili were obligate carnivores, consuming far more meat than a human would need, and getting their other nutrients through consumption of organs. Evan was not particularly thrilled at the idea of eating a stomach and its contents, so arrangements were made to import Earth plants and teach Sangheili to grow and prepare human vegetables. Evan imagined that he and his people would be eating a lot of field rations in the meantime.

Slowly, Evan realized that choosing a military survivalist might have been a wise decision. Sanghelios was not going to be like a posting to Africa or South America; he could not count on having staff that would know how to wash his clothes, or make his meals, or provide other personal services. The Sangheili would learn in time how to welcome a human guest, but there would be a learning period.

Thankfully, he had Lak to help him.

"Good day, Lak," Evan said with a smile as he walked into the room, where Lak was already seated on a stuffed chair near a coffee table. He'd come to view the senior Sangheili as a sort of grandfather figure. "What's the multiculturalism lesson today?"

Lak fiddled with his fingers, an unusual gesture for the Elite who usually broadcast an aura of good-humoured amusement. "Today's discussion is a matter of some sensitivity. As you know, we will be arriving on Sanghelios within the week and we must…come to an understanding on a vital matter."

Evan took a seat in the chair across from Lak. "Oh?" he inquired, hoping he sounded calm and reassuring, though his mind was racing. They'd had the toilet and sanitation discussion last week, after all...

Lak sighed, and looked Evan in the eyes, as though he had decided that he might as well be blunt. "Are you married?"

Evan blinked. "No," he replied.

"Do you have a bondmate?"

"No," Evan said slowly, not sure what the difference was between "bondmate" and "wife." "I'm single," he added, just to clarify in case "bondmate" was Sangheili-ese for "girlfriend."

It hadn't made sense for Evan to pursue a serious relationship given his job and the realities of the war. He didn't think it would be fair for him to have a wife he only saw every few years, or children constantly at risk of becoming orphans. Evan had kept his relationships strictly temporary, and that had been enough, though he'd hoped that if he survived the war, he might find a nice girl and settle down.

"But you have had mates, yes?"

"I've never been divorced, if that's what you're asking."

Lak tilted his head. "What is _divorced_?"

"Er..." Here it was, another moment of cultural disconnect. "Divorce is when a marriage ends because the two people aren't getting along with one another."

Lak's expression was probably a scowl—the sheer number of pointed teeth displayed made it clear that the Sangheili did not like the idea. "Such is a rare thing on Sangheilos, and a grave dishonour. Better to send assassins after a dangerous spouse."

Evan was good at hiding his reactions, but damn, what did you say to something like _that_? That he supposed Sanghelios didn't have much of a domestic violence problem? Or that it wasn't fair if there was no other way out of a poorly matched marriage beyond hiring a hitman?

It was best to reflect the question back at Lak. "I don't think I understand what you mean by _mates_."

Lak blinked at him with large amber eyes. "You have had sex before, have you not?" The Sangheili seemed embarrassed.

Oh. Evan was a bit embarrassed himself as he nodded in the affirmative.

"And do you have a consort, or several?"

Now Evan was starting to figure out what Lak wanted to talk to him about. He wasn't sure whether to be impressed at the thoroughness of the Sangheili's attention to his welfare, or to tell the alien that he had already taken care of this himself, thank you.

Except that if "bondmate" was "girlfriend," what did "consort" mean?

"I need some clarification," Evan said slowly. "I understand "wife," but I don't know the difference between "mate," "consort" and "bondmate.""

Lak nodded. "A mate is someone you have had sex with."

Well, that was blunt.

"A consort is someone with whom you mate regularly. This can be a simple matter of mutual entertainment, or a compatibility test prior to bonding. The relationship is signified by the wearing of a bracelet and, while it may not be an exclusive relationship, most individuals, upon seeing the bracelet, assume the wearer is unavailable. This relationship has no legal authority and is a casual social arrangement."

_Girlfriend_, Evan translated.

"A bondmate is someone to whom you have committed your life because you love the person. It is a holy union sworn before the gods."

Evan scratched his head. "How is bondmate different from wife, then?"

Lak blinked. "Marriage is a legal and political arrangement, entered to cement alliances, usually through mingling of genetics. Its purpose is to produce multiple young from the same parents."

Evan felt his lips pucker. That was blunt as well. And Lak wasn't done.

"This is why marriage is restricted to one male and one female, while the other relationships may involve individuals of any gender or even multiple individuals. Swordsmen and Priestesses, to spread their superior genes, are forbidden to marry; many councillors and kaidons remain single in order to do the same, though often politics demands marriage in time. No one of the opposite gender may mate with a married Sangheili save a Swordsman or a Priestess. Sangheili with opposite-gender bondmates forfeit their ability to have sex with them upon their marriage to another." Lak closed his eyes. "The most fortunate among us have the same person for both spouse and bondmate."

Every time Evan thought he was comfortable around Sangheili, they'd do something like this and remind him of just how alien they were. They had different words for "marriage for love" and "marriage for business," but they didn't have a word to distinguish between "girlfriend" and "booty call."

"Well, to answer your question, Lak, I don't have any of those. I've spent my lifetime at war, in dangerous occupations, and I didn't think it was worthwhile to tie myself down to a wife and kids—or a steady girlfriend..."

Lak raised an eye ridge.

"A consort," Evan clarified.

Lak nodded.

"To have someone like that when I was always away fighting."

"You are a proud warrior," Lak said. "This is good." His mandibles fluttered. "Do you prefer females?"

Dammit, but that was a nosy question, out of nowhere! "Yes."

Lak nodded, seeming pleased. "That is good as well."

Evan wondered if the species was homophobic. His best friend was gay, and Evan didn't like the way some people on Earth treated him, as though Carl's loving long-term relationship suddenly made him morally questionable simply because he was married to a George instead of a Georgina. On the other hand, Lak had just spoken of same-sex and even polygamous relationships in the same casual tone as he'd used to discuss marriage, so perhaps not.

Evan took a deep breath. "This is potentially embarrassing, isn't it?"

Lak nodded.

"Well, I can save you the trouble. You know we have support staff aboard, coming to staff the new Earth embassy in Iruiru, and several of them are female. I found one of them particulary appealing during our pre-mission briefing week, and if I'm mistaken and she doesn't find me interesting as well, I have several other options. I'm pretty sure I'm covered in this department, Lak."

Lak laced his fingers together again. "I am not merely inquiring about your opportunities for sexual companionship."

Evan felt a sudden strange knotting in the bottom of his stomach. His instincts had saved his life several times during the war, and right now his instincts had been jolted rudely awake by the fact that Lak had more in mind than ensuring Evan's needs were met.

"Lak..."

The elder Sangheili shifted sideways in his chair. "The majority of the Sangheili councillors have voted for a formal alliance between our peoples."

Evan was confused. "Yes, that is why we are establishing an embassy on Sanghelios, just as you have one on Earth."

Lak scratched at his lower mandibles. "This embassy concept is new to us as a species. Yes, the Covenant taught us to maintain a presence in the company of other species, but...it is not how the Sangheili people have traditionally behaved. On your world, the paresence of Usze 'Taham and N'tho 'Sraom in formal garb is sufficient to indicate to your people that we have become your allies. On our world, the people will demand something different." He let out his breath slowly. "According to Sangheili tradition, the Councillors have decreed that you be married."

Lak's revelation hit Evan like a sucker punch.

The reason behind Lak's questions became suddenly and horribly clear. It was too late for Evan to lie and say he had a wife back on Earth now. He'd just told the Sangheili that he was single and unattached—suitable marriage material—except...

"But you place such importance on bloodlines," Evan argued. "Surely the Councillors understand that a Human and a Sangheili are too biologically different to reproduce."

Lak nodded. "This was a major factor in the debate. However, in the end, the formality of the union was judged more important than any theoretical young. For centuries, Sangheili have celebrated the cessation of hostilites between keeps, clans or city-states with marriages. There is no better way to illustrate to the average Sangheili citizen that Humanity are our allies."

Evan felt sick. He was all too aware that the common citizen could be completely unaware of events outside their experience, whether that be trying to explain the horrors of combat to someone who'd never experienced them, or the higher workings of government to the man on the street.

"Is there any way out of this?"

Lak regarded him sorrowfully. "I regret that it would be taken as a grave insult, or at the very least, a reason for suspicion."

And he couldn't afford that. Humanity needed its alliance with the Sangheili in order to rebuild.

"I have done my best for you. I will seek for you a mate with qualities that I believe will compliment yours."

Evan was not a diplomat by training. He could not soften the question that leapt from his mouth. "Are you telling me I have to have sex with an alien?"

Lak's mandibles shivered. "It would only be mandatory once."

Evan wasn't sure if that was good or not. Apparently he was not in for a life sentence.  
But still….

He looked at Lak. The jaws, the scales, the strange legs, the sheer size…he'd managed to consider them as _people _and not animals, but to fuck one?

It was a mission, Evan thought. He had to think of this situation as a mission. He could do anything once.

God, what did the females even look like? Evan had never seen one. He wondered if it would look at all female. He wondered if they might possibly be even more weird and alien than the males.

"We are not unreasonable, Evan," Lak said. "I argued to the Council that you would naturally prefer the sexual companionship of your own kind. I told them that you would no more welcome a Sangheili mate than they would enjoy breeding with a Human." The Sangheili tilted his head. "The Council are not impractical. They know that you will likely seek Human mates outside your marriage, and they are willing to give you the same leeway they would give to a kaidon or war hero, many of whom have historically been less than faithful to their wives. If you are discreet, they will look the other way. I have insisted that this be made clear."

Evan felt a small measure of relief that this marriage did not mean the end of his sex life with human women.

Lak continued, "So, you would need only mate with your new wife once, to consummate and seal the marriage."

Evan let out his breath. "So after that, we could go on our separate ways?"

Lak fidgeted. "You would, of course, be expected to live in her company, and she would go with you to public events."

Evan nodded, trying to assimilate this information into his mind, when all it seemed to want to do was spin incoherently. "But after the, er, first night, we could find other partners?"

Lak's expression suddenly saddened. "You could."

Evan pulled in his breath. "She couldn't?"

"Concession would be made for you as you are not a Sangheili. She is, and she does not have the rank and power of a Priestess to exempt her from the rules."

So, whoever he married, he'd be able to fool around with impunity while she was condemned to a life of celibacy, unless he was willing and able to give her some pity sex now and then. The idea was horrible either way; he didn't want to fuck an alien, but he also didn't want to leave the poor girl sexually frustrated for the rest of her life. He could only hope she didn't want him any more than he wanted her.

Then Evan's brain filled him in on another detail.

Lak had spoken as though someone had already been chosen.

"Hey," Evan said. "Do I at least get to pick my own wife?"

Lak's eyes dropped. "The Council went to considerable effort to ensure that certain...criteria...were met."

Married. He'd just get off the ship and he'd end up married.

"Do I even get a chance to meet her before the ceremony?" he asked desperately. "An opportunity to ask for a second choice if it turns out we can't tolerate one another?" He swallowed, his mouth dry. "I do not want to insult you or imply that I question your judgment. I merely mean to state that as you have not actually lived with this female, you can never really know what someone's like until you live with them and…"

He was babbling. He cleared his throat and started again. "Lak. Let me be frank. I'm beginning to understand how important this alliance is, not just to the Council, but to Humanity in general and myself in particular. I know you have my best interests in mind and you're doing this as a way to help myself and my staff be accepted in your people's culture."

Lak nodded, looking relieved.

"So I know that if I say no to the girl in question, the Council will choose me another. And I'm aware that I can't say no indefinitely..."

"Business will not begin until you are married into our culture," Lak said softly, confirming Evan's analysis.

"But...from a culture where people are free to decide who they will marry, if at all...I want at least the chance to meet my future wife and, if it turns out we're obviously incompatible, the opportunity to pick from a list of candidates."

The Sangheili held his tongue. Evan took that as a good sign.

"I know you read my files and I'm sure you did your best, Lak, but the fact remains, you haven't known me very long and you don't know much about me as a person. Whoever I marry is going to have to be around me a lot, at a lot of official functions....and I'm a human being. Our culture sees husband and wife as a pair, not just two people who meet up sometimes for sex."

Lak thought for a moment. "If our choice of female does not please you, we will present you the short list of candidates for you to choose a wife. Is this acceptable?"

It wasn't, not really, but Evan knew it was as good as he was going to get.

He nodded, feeling as though he'd just walked into a jail cell of his own volition. "When will I meet her?"

Lak let out his breath. "You have already met her."


	2. Chapter 2: Bear This Pain With Pride

**Author's Note:**

I'd like to thank Aspergian Mind for providing the original idea for this story. **  
**

Regarding what female Sangheili look like:

I started writing stories, with female characters, prior to the release of "The Duel". At the time I'd established that male and female Sangheili look much alike, save for the fact that the females tend to be smaller, leaner, with wider hips, and that the species distinguished one another's genders by scent more than sight.

I don't feel that "The Duel" entirely negates my theory – like humans, I'm sure there's a variance in appearance, from the very butch (Fil Storamy) to the very feminine (Han) and a whole range in between. And, of course, it would be more challenging for a Human being to tell a female Sangheili from a male, particularly if the lady was in armour…

**Rules of Engagement**

**Chapter the Second**

Major Evan Doucette had just recovered his equilibrium when Lak's statement knocked his world akilter once again.

He didn't know any female Sangheili. He'd never seen any female Sangheili, as far as he knew. How could he have already been introduced to his would-be bride?

Oh, God. _As far as he knew_.

The door slid open behind him. Lak smiled at someone standing in the corridor.

Evan wanted more time to come to terms with the bombshell Lak had dropped on him, but since he wasn't going to get it, he looked over his shoulder, half-expecting to see a lady Sangheili in a white veil.

Instead, he saw his chief of security, Relu 'Chavam, holding his plasma pike with its sharp, glistening head pointed towards the roof. Although his stance was "at ease," he seemed agitated. His eyes met Evan's and darted away.

"I have given Major Doucette the news," Lak said quietly.

Relu strode into the room. The glow of the overhead lights sent a soft gleam over the Security Chief's orange armour. Evan guessed that the short, smooth helmet and plated armour guards signified 'Chavam's former position as the Chavam Keep's Captain of the Guard, as opposed to the combat, assault, and flight armour worn by the military Sangheili. But, of course, he was only guessing.

Relu didn't talk much. The Captain was a consummate professional; Evan had no choice but to be impressed by his tactical cleverness, fighting ability, and attention to even the most minute detail. But Relu had apparently been shortchanged in the social skills department. He rarely spoke to Evan, and seemed uncomfortable talking to him—and he spoke even less to the other Sangheili. Relu was worlds apart from Evan's other bodyguard, Lor'n 'Malach, who loved to chat about everything. Lor'n happily listened to Evan for hours and who was overflowing with questions about Earth. The result was that Evan considered Lor'n a friend, whereas Relu was merely a respected associate.

Relu stepped forward into the room. "And?" The door closed behind him.

Lak winced; Evan was astonished to see the elderly Sangheili close his eyes as though in pain. "I am about to inform him as to the Council's choice for his wife."

"Which isn't going to mean anything to me as I've never even met a female Sangheili," Evan added sarcastically, because as his shock wore off he found himself beginning to feel more than a little angry at being railroaded into an alien marriage.

His Chief of Security blinked at him and said quietly, "Can you not tell?"

"He cannot smell the difference," Lak murmured. "Their noses are not as highly developed as ours."

Relu flared his short, stubby mandibles and quivered, giving off all the signs that Evan had come to learn meant _agitated Sangheili_. And Evan was beginning to feel more than a little agitated himself, as suspicion began to bubble up from his subconscious. He glared at Lak, silently demanding an answer to the question still forming in his mind.

"Home Guard ranks," Lak said softly, "are the providence of females."

_Captain of the…_

"Relu is a female?" he choked out, dumbly.

Lak nodded.

"I'm gonna marry Relu?!" Evan blurted.

The elderly male bowed his head. "If you will accept her."

The very idea rocked him. He had never thought of his chief bodyguard as marriage material. He had never thought of his chief bodyguard as more than a fellow soldier.

He had never thought of his chief bodyguard as a woman.

He whipped his head around to stare at the Sangheili in question. Relu had also stilled, and was now standing before him, head lowered, eyes shut, and a single shining drop of liquid on her left cheek…

_Oh, God, don't tell me they can cry._

"Relu?" he said gently.

The Captain of the Guard opened one eye—the dry one.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know…" How did a person make an apology like this? "Didn't know you were a female."

Yep. _Sorry I got your gender wrong _sounded stupid no matter how you said it.

"Apology accepted," Relu murmured. She…_and Evan had been calling Relu "he" all this time_…she stood there as though before an executioner.

"You don't look happy about this," he guessed, and it gave him a strange empathy for her even as he felt relieved that she was not some kind of perverse alien predator, pursuing him.

"Are you declining the engagement?" she said, her words clipped.

Oh, and there was a loaded question. Did she want him to say yes? He sure as hell didn't want to marry her, but Lak had already made it clear what a Sangheili/Human marriage would mean. If not her, then who? He did not want to decline Relu only to have a less palatable option present itself.

"I am still deciding," he replied.

Her eyes opened. "I told Lak you called me a male to taunt me," she said sharply. "I was certain you would object to this arrangement. I was loath to believe you truly could not distinguish the genders."

Evan shook his head. "You are smaller than most of the warriors," he replied slowly, "and your armour's different, but…" His words trailed off and he shrugged helplessly. "I don't know anything about you…your people. I…." God, he felt like a colossal idiot. "I've been inadvertently insulting my future wife all this time." Suddenly angry, he glared at her. "You could have told me, you know."

Relu was silent.

"Our senses of smell aren't that good," Evan babbled. "You look…to me, aside from the armour and your height, you look the same as the males." He looked to Lak for help.

"A female's hips are broader and belly rounder," Lak said, "for carriage of the eggs." He lapped at the tips of his mandibles. "But yes, our females do not have the same obvious outward physical distinctions that your females possess, and I reminded Relu that you are not yet familiar enough with us to recognize the difference between male and female clothing."

Evan barely heard the end of the speech. His brain had just cut to an image of himself and his silent, standoffish Captain of the Guard naked in bed together, and he wasn't enjoying it half as much as the thought of himself in bed with that cute xenobiologist on his embassy staff, or for that matter, his IT chief and his chef's assistant weren't bad looking either…

Thinking about embassy roles brought another question to his mind. "But Relu's my chief bodyguard," Evan said weakly. "Is it all right for me to marry her?" Such a relationship would be completely forbidden between a Human ambassador and his Human security personnel.

"Of course," Lak replied, looking pleased with himself. "You will require constant protection. Who better to provide it than your wife, with whom you are to live regardless? Why choose a weak female—one more person for your staff to protect—when we could choose the captain of that staff? You will find that she is exceedingly efficient at ensuring your safety, even more so without the follies of a wife without combat training interfering with her decisions."

Evan's head reeled. One couldn't accuse the Sangheili of failing to be practical...

Relu was still watching him and it occurred to him that he had no idea whatsoever how she felt about this situation.

"Relu. Can I…" Evan racked his brain trying to think if there was some kind of Sangheili prohibition against what he would consider a date. Unable to think of anything, he went ahead and asked. "Before I make my decision, I need to speak with you. Can I take you out to dinner tonight?"

Relu blinked. "Out where? What is wrong with the mess hall?"

Evan suddenly felt like he was eleven years old and trying to ask a girl to dance with him at his first middle school dance. "Uh…somewhere private, where we can eat and talk without everyone watching us?"

She considered that, then nodded abruptly. "Agreed."

And they were left staring at one another.

Relu, surprisingly, broke the silence. "I take it to mean you are planning something in your private quarters."

He hadn't thought that far ahead, but truth be told, there weren't really that many other suitably private places on the ship, and if he was the one asking her, he ought to be the one doing the setup work. "Yes."

"Accepted. I will see you at the supper hour."

Evan hoped Relu wouldn't be so coldly businesslike during their meal. He couldn't imagine life married to such a hard and unemotional being. Weren't Sangheili females supposed to be soft, graceful and nurturing? Wasn't that the reason they weren't allowed to fight? Maybe some other candidate would be better than Relu 'Chavam after all.

"If you will excuse me," Relu said more quietly, "I have duties to perform. Your security staff candidates must be evaluated, and the most successful chosen, before we land on Sanghelios."

Evan nodded, and Relu exited the room.

Lak beamed. "This seems to be going well. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to assist you."

"Yeah," Evan growled. "You can give me some advance warning next time." He got up and stalked out.

How was he ever going to figure out what Relu was thinking? He still felt confused with Human females sometimes. Sangheili females were an utter enigma. He needed advice, and not from an elderly male like Lak.

Evan went in search of Lor'n.

*

"I need you to tell me about females," Evan said as he sat across from Lor'n 'Malach in the mess hall. Evan munched on potato chips from out of a sealed bag he'd brought with him from Earth. His stomach protested; the idea of marrying Relu was threatening to nauseate him, but he had to eat something. He couldn't let this marriage fiasco overwhelm him.

Lor'n chucked and winked his one remaining eye. "What do you want to know?" he asked, in a leering voice that made it sound like an innuendo, and set Evan laughing. Lor'n joined in, his bass chuckle providing counterpoint to Evan's tenor.

"I want to know about Relu," he clarified, and Lor'n's laughter suddenly died in his throat.

"Lak gave you the good news, I see," Lor'n said quietly.

"Yeah." Evan shot the Sangheili a suspicious look. "Is this the sort of thing everyone on the ship knows but me?"

"No. The official announcement will be made upon our arrival on Sanghelios. Lak…spoke to me, Evan. He asked me for guidance on how you would react."

Evan tried to tamp down the feeling of betrayal welling in him. "You could have given me a heads up."

"You are a warrior, as am I," Lor'n retorted. "Lak swore me to secrecy. Would you defy an order from your commanders, to give such a warning to me?"

The Sangheili had a point. Lord Hood had given Evan and his entire team orders to collect information on the Sangheili—information that Humanity could use if the alliance ever came apart. He could hardly blame Lor'n for doing the same. And yet…

"Surely you understand that I must be able to trust my own security team. This is not simply a matter of chain of command. When I am on your planet, my life is in your hands. I intent to speak to Lak and ensure that your loyalty is to me first, from the second we land on Sanghelios. I understand if your people are….learning about Humans…by which I mean gathering intelligence," he clarified. It was too hard to be subtle with aliens. "But not you, and not my other security team members. I feel I will have trouble enough sorting out my relationship with Relu. I do not need to have your loyalty in question as well."

Lor'n sat, unresisting. "It will be done."

Evan couldn't be too angry with him. Knowing in advance would have done very little to change the outcome so far. Except…

"You could have told me Relu was a female."

"I thought you were complimenting her."

"Excuse me?"

"By calling her a male? A rare compliment indeed for a Home Guard."

"I don't think she took it that way." He hesitated a moment, "I think she hates me, and she doesn't seem to like anyone else much better. Am I misreading that?"

Lor'n toyed with his claws. "Relu is a highly qualified security chief…"

Evan touched the Sangheili's wrist. Lor'n looked up, startled. "I'm not asking about her qualifications," Evan said firmly. "That isn't in doubt. I'm asking about her personality. She hasn't been easy to get to know."

Lor'n sighed. "She is a female in a position many consider better suited to a male. In my more generous moods, I choose to believe that she would rather be respected than liked. It is probably a wise decision on her part, but it demands a certain…distance…from the rest of us."

"So what you're telling me is that nobody on this ship knows her any better than I do."

"And there are many warriors who resent taking their orders from a female."

Evan took a deep breath. He knew the Sangheili society was sexist, but… "How does that work? The Home Guards?"

"All male Sangheili who can pass War College join our military. All male Sangheili who cannot join the serfs in the fields and factories."

Evan nodded his understanding.

"Since the formation of the Covenant, the Sangheili military has fought offworld, away from Sanghelios. But we are a people of ancient rivalries and deep-rooted feuds. The Covenant could not end the old animosity between the keeps. Our leaders wanted warriors to defend the keeps. The Prophets wanted every male they could get in the Covenant army. As a result, the more martial-minded of our females became our Home Guard, commanding a militia of females supplanted with injured ex-warriors who were still fit to fight."

"And she's accomplished."

"Very much so, for a female. And she is from an ancient family, with more than one Arbiter in their line."

Evan was still trying to decide whether Relu would be considered a "catch". She had the bloodline and the political prowess for it, but…. "Do you think she's pretty? Is she your type?"

Lor'n snorted. "Not in the least. Should I ever wish to marry, I will wed a slender, soft female, a gracious hostess, a charming entertainer, a doting mother. Someone who will soothe me after a day of labour, raise my children, and make me the envy of my family and friends." Lor'n folded his arms. "Unlike some injured warriors, I have a job working for you, and as a result, I need not accept wedding offers in order to sustain myself. I will wait for a woman who pleases me, or…" He grinned. "Or I can simply spend my days mating with whoever catches my fancy."

Great, Evan thought. He'd gotten an aristocratic, successful, dog woman.

Then again, just because Lor'n didn't go for her type didn't mean no one else would. "Does she have a boyfriend?"

"I do not know much about her friends."

"Wait. Let me put that in Sangheili language… Does she have a, er, bondmate? Or a consort?"

Lor'n snorted. "What male would want her?" He fidgeted once the words were out of his mouth, clearly uncomfortable. "If you were hoping to make our males jealous, I fear you will fail. Relu….to mate with one such as Relu, you might as well be mating with another male." Lor'n snorted. "Males will suffice when females are not available, but for a life partner I would really rather a female who looks and acts the part."

"I wonder if she's in love with anyone." For all he knew, Relu liked females.

Lor'n shrugged his ignorance.

He was beginning to realize that he knew next to nothing about her, including why she was marrying him. What if she thought Humans were sexually attractive? What if she were being forced into this just as he was? He couldn't imagine which option was worse. But he hated to imagine Relu having a lover, either male or female, who would grieve to discover that Relu had been promised to him by the Sangheili High Council.

"If you want to know how to court her, or how to please her, I can tell you these things," Lor'n said. "I only wish I could tell you that I envied you."

"Duty's a bitch," Evan muttered.

"Indeed." Lor'n reached out to Evan's bowl and snagged a potato chip. Evan watched in disgusted fascination as Lor'n's mandibles shattered the chip and a slurping inhalation sucked the fragments into the Sangheili's throat.

"I thought you only ate once a day."

"Ideally." The Sangheili looked guilty. "I like snacks."

Evan sighed. "So what should I feed Relu tonight?"

The Sangheili smiled. "I will help you get a bloody carcass."

"Hilarious, Lor'n. I'm trying to get her to _not _hate me, remember?"

Lor'n blinked. "A fresh kill is the traditional offering from a male to the female he desires."

"Oh."

"You put it in your mouth, like so…" Lor'n grabbed the bag of chips and shoved it in his mandibles to demonstrate. Evan decided that with half the bag covered in Sangheili drool, Lor'n could keep it.

His bodyguard took the bag out of his mouth to continue. "Then she eats from one end, you eat from the other and you meet in the middle."

"A bloody carcass."

Lor'n nodded.

"A _raw_, bloody carcass."

Lor'n nodded again.

"With bones in it."

Lor'n continued to watch him expectantly.

"Even if my teeth could handle bones, Lor'n, I'm not about to eat raw alien meat."

A disgusting thought crossed his mind and he forced it away.

Lor'n completely missed any possible reference to sexual acts, which Evan attributed to ignorance of slang as opposed to any kind of tact on the Sangheili's part. "Do you want to court her or not?" he demanded.

Evan sighed. "I hope a rare steak will do."

*

The steak was as rare as Evan could stand it, which meant it was still pink and sitting on his plate in a puddle of red juice. For a man who preferred his meat well-done, the idea of eating the thing was less than appealing, but if he insisted that Relu eat cooked food, he had to compromise somewhere.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in," he said, his voice shaky with nerves. He picked up the steak in both hands, certain he was going to look ridiculous.

The door opened, revealing Relu, every inch the perfect soldier as she stood there with her energy pike. She stepped forward into the room. "You wished to see…."

Evan stuffed the steak into his mouth.

The pike fell from Relu's hands as the door closed behind her.

He spat out the steak and let it fall onto his plate with a splash. "I'm sorry, I…"

Relu stared at him, her eyes huge. "Are you _courting _me?"

"I'm trying to," Evan admitted. "I guess I'm not doing a very good job of it."

Relu bolted to the table, ignoring her fallen staff. "No…continue…please."

Evan picked up the steak. "Just be careful. You've got some pretty impressive teeth and my hide's not as thick as yours."

No sooner did he have it in his jaws than Relu began to flail the other end with her mandibles. The sight of all those flying fangs unnerved him, and if he were to bite through this steak, he would drop it, because he didn't have two jaws to grip it and another two to chew it with. He raised his hands, cautiously, in order to take a mouthful of meat.

Relu was still watching him intently despite the speed at which she devoured the steak. She placed her own hands over his and slowed her eating. Still, by the time Evan had managed a few more bites, Relu had devoured most of the rest of the meat.

"Do you want the rest?" he asked.

Her face actually purpled. "May I?" God, was that a Sangheili blush?

He didn't have the heart to tell her he still didn't like rare steak. He surrendered the meat, pulling his hands out from beneath hers. "Knock yourself out."

She tilted her head, peered at him.

"It's an expression that means to go ahead."

Relu squinted her eyes happily and wolfed down the rest of the meat. She swallowed one last gulp and sat back in her chair, still beaming. A thick thrumming sound filled the air…was she _purring_?

Evan was deeply torn. On one hand, he didn't want to be too nice to her—he didn't want to marry her, and that was a fact. On the other hand, it was hardly her fault that he did not find her appealing, and if she was as unwilling as he, then it was not fair for him to take out his frustrations on her.

Before he could know how to proceed, he had to know where she stood.

"I wanted to ask you what you thought about…" He licked his lips; his mouth was suddenly dry. "Our upcoming marriage."

She tilted her head, watching him through enigmatic amber eyes. He wondered if another Sangheili could read her body language. He was hopelessly lost.

"I want you to be honest with me. We need to know where the other stands so that we can make a good decision about what to do next. I don't want you to lie in an attempt to please me; both of our futures are at stake here. You're a soldier, like me—you surely understand the value of accurate intelligence information."

He watched her eyes grow huge. He wondered what he had said to provoke that reaction. She sat, silent, as though stunned.

There was no kind way to say it so he spit it out. "Are you being forced into this arrangement against your will?"

She leaned forward. "If you are asking are you my ideal mate, no, in all honesty, you are not, but if you are asking whether I was coerced, the answer is no." Her eyes stared into his. "I volunteered."


	3. Chapter 3: In This Debt, A Better World

**Author's Note: **I want to thank everyone for the overwhelming support I've received to this story. The responses I've received have meant a lot to me.

I believe I am in a minority when I say I've never been able to write chronologically—beginning to end. I write scattered pieces and scenes, then assemble them together. At this point I have enough of "Rules of Engagement" done to guess that the story will run approximately 6-7 chapters. So yes, you _will _see a complete story this year…it's just a bit of a wait between updates.

I will do my best to update monthly. I have a lot going on in real life and can't make any guarantees, but I will give it my best shot.

**Rules of Engagement**

**Chapter the Third**

Volunteered….but she did not fancy him? Relu's two answers seemed to contradict one another.

Rather than make guesses and presumptions about her motivation, Evan decided to ask her outright. He might appear blunt and ill-mannered by doing so, but he did not trust his ability to intuit her body language or read between the lines of her words. She was not Human, and he could not try to decipher her intent as though she were.

"So, you're not in love with anyone else?" Evan said slowly, wanting to be clear.

Her eyes gleamed. "No. I am not."

There was that, at least.

"Are you?" she asked tentatively.

"No," he replied, "but…"

"You would rather marry your own kind."

Evan could not imagine anything so awkward as this. He shoved his hands in his pockets and nodded.

"As would I, but that is not an option for me." She tilted her head. "You have a second-in-command, do you not? Someone to take your place if need be?"

He wanted to ask her why she couldn't marry a Sangheili, and it took a moment for him to fathom her question. "What? No, not yet. There's a few candidates among the junior officers, but I wanted to take time to review…."

Her mandibles flared. "We have less than a week, Major Doucette. You must choose quickly!"

Evan folded his arms. "I have a policy not to make any of my people do something I wouldn't do. I'm not going to abdicate my position just to force my successor into this marriage."

Relu closed her mandibles and nodded seriously. "That is an admirable thing, Major. Still, surely Lak has made you aware that there is danger on Sanghelios?"

"Are we talking about your native wildlife, the risk of heatstroke, the fact that I might be fatally allergic to pretty well anything on your planet, the fact that the Brutes and the remnants of the Covenant are still out there, or your own homegrown rebellion?"

"Admiral Xytan Jar 'Wattin's rebels are my primary concern," she said grimly.

Evan frowned. "Lak warned me about your political turmoil…and that 'Wattin's people oppose our alliance…but do you really feel I need a successor that quickly?"

Relu nodded. "I will, of course, do my utmost to protect you, as will Lor'n and the rest of your security team, but this alliance is too important. Should we fail, we must secure a backup plan. A second Ambassador. A second Consort. We will, of course, appoint the opposite gender to that of whatever Ambassador you choose." Relu fidgeted. "You should know that if you appoint a female Ambassador, poor Lor'n's neck is on the chopping block."

Evan couldn't help a little smirk at the idea of Lor'n 'Malach stuck in this same situation, and though he had no intention of dying or abdicating, the fact remained that the most capable Human for the Ambassador role after Evan himself was his strategic advisor, ODST Captain Maria Morenstein. And unless Morenstein liked alien men more than she liked Human men, Evan hoped he would never have to tell the Captain what taking his place would entail.

Evan leaned forward, bracing his arms on the table. "I'll take that up with my staff. Your plan is wise. But before we start talking about our successors, I'd appreciate it if we could talk about _us _for a bit. Or are you dodging the question?"

Relu mirrored his action, lowering her snout to mere inches away from his nose. "I am emphasizing the point that this marriage, like the rest of our situation, is primarily about duty. Our own personal desires are of no consequence."

"You don't need to convince me of the importance of doing my duty. I'm agreeing to this marriage, aren't I? Which, I might add, is something I would have appreciated knowing about in advance."

Relu glanced away. "At first…" Her voice was quiet. "We were afraid Humanity would decline the marriage, the alliance would crumble and both our people would suffer. We need one another too badly."

Evan took a deep breath. "Why do the Sangheili need us?"

Relu ground her teeth together and raised an eye ridge. "That is a very provocative question, Evan."

"I'm being serious. You've still got colonies, and we don't, not unless you consider a few maverick worlds to be colonies. Your homeworld's infrastructure is undamaged. You're technologically superior. But you speak as though your people were desperate—and I _do_ know enough about Sangheili pride to know that you would probably all rather die than admit that desperation to the likes of me. So please, Relu, forgive my unintentional insult and answer me: why?"

Relu shook her head sadly. "Because the Prophets gave us our technology. We served them as warriors, and they taught us the secrets of the Forerunners…"

"They reverse-engineered Forerunner artifacts," Evan said.

Relu nodded. "In the old days, the Sangheili venerated the Forerunners' relics, but we did not tinker with them. They were too sacred. We had our own traditions of science and religion. But when we signed the Covenant, we gave these duties to the Prophets. All these generations later, we no longer have a scientific establishment of our own. We can repair what we have, and we can make practical improvements, but our ability to discover new things is hampered by a lack of practice in doing so." Her eyes, huge liquid orbs, shone with reflected light. "Your kind still remembers how to discover, how to experiment, how to intuit. You can teach us how to learn for ourselves once again."

Evan's breath caught in his throat. He'd never considered what the ancient dependence on the Prophets might mean for the Sangheili now. "And you have enough ships and people and resources to defend Earth—one battered planet—from the remnants of the Covenant while we rebuild, and give us some tools with which to do so."

Relu nodded. "Xytan Jar 'Wattin would have us put that energy into destroying you instead, before turning our guns on the Brutes and the rest of our former allies. And I admit that I would see a certain satisfaction in turning Doisac to glass." For a moment, her expression was murderous, hideous in its ferocity, before it slipped into sadness. "But my thirst for revenge is not yet so extreme that I would doom my own people to achieve it. Jar 'Wattin would have us burn ourselves out in one last orgiastic blaze of triumph before we crumbled into the ashes of history. Once his wars were won, he would find himself the king of an empire in decline. It would be only a matter of time before some enemy he had not yet beaten came along to destroy us—perhaps a disease, or a famine, or another rebellion from within." She lifted her head. "I am not too proud to admit we need help now. Now, while we still have a hope of recovery—a hope for both your people and mine."

"I'm glad we agree on this," Evan said quietly. "But it doesn't answer my original question."

Relu regarded him curiously.

"I accept why it is important for a Sangheili and a Human to marry. As the chosen Human Ambassador, it makes perfect sense that I should be the Human candidate. What I don't yet understand is…" He reached out to touch her hand. "Why _you_."

Her skin was warm in his grip. Somehow he'd expected it to be cool, perhaps even damp. It was thicker than a human female's, and felt like calfskin leather, buttery soft.

She spoke slowly, carefully. "Lak explained to you already that there is an advantage in your marriage to a trained warrior, rather than to a civilian female who would be a weak link if…or rather, _when_…you are attacked by the rebels." Her gaze grew distant, as though she were deep in thought. Evan waited. She spoke again. "But I am not the only female warrior in the Home Guard, though I am one of the best. There are several reasons they chose me from among the available candidates. In addition to my battle skills, there is the fact that the Keep of Chavam is an ancient and honoured name among the Sangheili. To marry you to a female from a lesser keep would lower our people's respect for you; it would be assumed that you could not do better."

"You're royalty."

She blinked, as though not understanding. Perhaps _royalty_ was not quite right, but the concept was surely similar. He guessed again. "From a family with a famous bloodline."

Relu nodded her understanding.

"A prized match."

She chewed her mandibles. "No."

He raised an eyebrow. "I'm getting less than the best?"

"You are better suited to me than to a traditional bride, Evan, and I am better suited to you than to a fellow Sangheili. As a Human in a dangerous position, you need a warrior mate. Many Sangheili males take pride in their ability to defend and protect their mates. To marry a soft civilian is to indicate that the male of the house is powerful enough to guard her all on his own. And I think that as so many of our males serve for years aboard our ships, when they get home, they want a mate who does not remind them of their comrades in arms." Her eyes gleamed. "Those warriors who do want that simply bond with other males."

"So when you joined the Home Guard, you were making yourself less marriageable?"

Relu nodded. "And my family did not approve. But I had talent, I had skill and aptitude, and in my youth I saw no reason to bow my head in order to wed a male who was lesser than I. I joined the Home Guard."

"And your family let you?" Evan frowned. "Sounds to me they'd prefer you stayed home having babies to carry on the family name."

"I had many sisters. The 'Chavam family could spare a single female."

She wasn't looking at him. Evan had the sneaking suspicion that there was something she was holding back, but he hated to call her on her bluff—to start their relationship with accusations and mistrust, when it might just be his inability to understand alien body language.

He needed to be gracious. He needed to recognize that she was making a sacrifice too, and show his sympathy for her.

"Well, since we aren't going to be able to have any babies the natural way, would you want to adopt some?"

Her head swung around. Oh, he had her attention now—her eyes were huge and her mandibles gaped open.

"What is this… We do not have this word."

"Adoption." Evan shrugged. "When people who want to be parents take legal responsibility for a child that isn't biologically theirs."

Relu's eyes were still round with shock. "Why would a person ever do such a thing?"

"Er, because they can't have children of their own?"

Relu shook her head, as though her mind refused to accept or to even comprehend. "But we…we raise children in the common rooms. If the young lose both parents, it is of no consequence…the whole keep would raise them…"

"You don't do adoption," he said quietly.

Relu nodded helplessly, and Evan was certain he read her correctly when he interpreted her expression as sorrow.

"I guess our kids would have to be Human, then," Evan said, wondering already how many strings he could pull to make this happen. Most child protection agencies might balk—and rightfully so—at the idea of sending kids to an alien planet. On the other hand, the war had left an awful lot of orphans. With food shortages threatening Earth, it was going to be a lot harder to be picky.

Relu's mandibles were moving, but no sound was coming out.

"Something to think about," Evan said quickly. "We should try to survive this wedding first, hm?"

The Sangheili still looked absolutely shell-shocked. Evan let his hand rest on her forearm, looking at her questioningly.

She moved with stunning speed, gripping his hand with hers so tightly that it hurt.

"You would do this for me?" Relu asked, her voice hoarse. "Give me young?"

"If that's what you want."

The words were barely out of her mouth when she began nodding enthusiastically. "Yes. I would do this, Evan Doucette. And…" Her eyes traveled to the side of the room. "And," she added softly, "I would stay with you tonight…" She peered up at him from under her helmet, her expression shy. "If you would have me."

Evan blinked, startled by the Sangheili's capitulation. He had not been prepared for this submissive side to his tough-as-nails Captain of the Guard. And, while he was pleased that they seemed to have found some common ground, he was sure as hell not ready to mate with her tonight. He doubted he ever would be, really, but tonight was definitely too soon by any possible Human definition.

He glanced nervously towards the door. "Uh, won't your people be upset if you spend the night here?"

She peered at him curiously. "Why would they be?"

Evan wiped his sweaty palms on the sides of his pants. "Er, they wouldn't be angry about the possibility of me, you know, sullying your virtue or something?"

Now Relu looked downright confused. "What could your actions possibly do to my virtue, Evan?"

Evan had to be beet red. He couldn't help it. The Sangheili sniffed at him and then bunted him with her muzzle, which made him blush even more furiously.

"Evan? What is wrong?" Relu's voice was concerned. "Your colouration is alarming!"

He forced the words out of his lips. "In many human cultures it's considered immoral for the male and female to show intimacies before the wedding."

Relu blinked. "Do you mean intercourse, or any displays of affection whatsoever?"

He was going to choke to death. No question.

Evan gasped for air. "Depends on the culture. Mine pretends not to care so much, unless the couple are teenagers. Others…other cultures wouldn't even let you and me alone in a room together without someone here to watch us."

Relu scratched her chin. "So the couple can have sex with everyone _except _their intended mates?"

Evan felt his airway close off again.

"You really do not look good," Relu said worriedly. She fidgeted. "Sit."

Evan sat, coughed, and then spoke quickly without looking at her. "The old fashioned way prohibited any kind of sex before marriage."

Relu snorted. "That is ridiculous. Who would want to marry someone who had not proven his ability to sire young, or her ability to carry them?"

Evan put his head into his hands and sighed. "We're coming from two totally different places, Relu." He lowered his right hand to peer at her from his right eye. "I haven't got any children of my own and can't sire you any in any case. So…"

Now Relu seemed nervous as her cheeks turned purple. "I did not mean to accuse you of being undesirable."

"Forget it." He dared to touch the Sangheili's hand again. "We'll probably have to forgive each other a lot of awkwardness."

A _hell_ of a lot, he thought.

Relu looked at the floor. "I was not implying that we should mate tonight. That would be…very soon. I was more hoping…that I might…that we could…"

"Yes?"

"That you might want to sit by me. Talk to me." Her fingers folded around his. "This is…nice."

Evan sighed again. Yes, they might as well start getting used to each other. "That'd be okay. You want to watch a movie or something?"

"What is a movie?"

No, nothing about this was going to be easy.

A comedy didn't make sense, since a Sangheili wouldn't understand most of the humour, and Evan just didn't feel comfortable at the idea of showing Relu a war film. She'd be insulted by the flicks made about fighting the Covenant, and she might well be inappropriately amused by those chronicling Human wars. Evan didn't own a lot of romantic movies, and the last thing he wanted was Relu getting overly amorous, so that was out too. Desperate, Evan flipped through the list of vids on his personal data device and stumbled across one right at the very bottom.

It was a classic cartoon movie that Evan had adored as a child, about a team of super heroes who tried to balance their ordinary lives with their secret identities. Though somewhat dated, and a little childish, Evan still loved the detailed characterization and entertaining plots of the movie and the show it was based on. Evan glanced speculatively at the Sangheili. "You like make believe?" he asked her.

Relu tilted her head.

An hour later, Relu was sitting beside Evan on the couch and watching the screen, rapt with fascination. Apparently the Sangheili culture didn't put a lot of stock in fantasy—in making up things that couldn't possibly exist. Relu was shocked every time the hero characters were run over by trucks or fell off of buildings, only to pop up again unscathed. She tilted her head in bewilderment when their bodies distorted or transformed. When they used magic, or performed other impossible feats, she laughed with delight. Evan found himself watching her more than the movie and being very much entertained.

She was kind of sweet, in a scaly, toothy sort of way. Her thigh next to him was warm. Her hand, curled in his, tightened every time she saw something that excited her. Her eyes sparkled when she when she was happy. And when she was very happy—like right now—she purred. These were things worth knowing, Evan thought.

Evan was still covered in steak juice, and his mind was reeling over Relu's enthusiasm for children, and he still couldn't quite wrap his thoughts around the idea of having sex with her.

It wasn't what Evan would have considered to be the perfect first date.

But it was a start.

...........................................................................

Evan woke up with a crick in his neck. He blinked his eyes sleepily, realizing he must have fallen asleep here on the couch next to Relu. His television set played the music from his vid list's menu screen over and over again.

Relu was gone.

Evan pressed his hand on the indentations she'd left in the couch cushion. They were still warm. She couldn't have been gone for long, Evan thought as he stood up.

That was when he realized the portal to his cabin's washroom was closed.

Evan stepped closer, about to ask if she was in there, when he heard a voice within.

"Yes sir."

Was someone else in there?

"Yes, I'm very clear on…"

Evan felt a little guilty about listening in, but Relu was in his bathroom, and short of singing out loud there was little he could do to drown out the sound of her words.

"What? What do you mean, they will not take my word?"

He could hear only one side of the conversation. He guessed she was speaking on a comm link.

"I have done _nothing _to cause the Council to question my honour. I can understand why you might wish to test Evan Doucette, but surely my word is enough!"

Evan froze.

He'd just heard his name. Whoever Relu was talking to, the conversation involved _him_. Evan suddenly felt justified for his espionage.

"This is an outrage!" the Sangheili roared. "How _dare_ you require me to…to…"

Suddenly, silence. Evan could hear the ship's soft creaks and the distant thrum of the engines as he strained to listen, but there was no sound within the chamber. He was about to knock, to see if Relu was all right, when he heard a sound that resembled nothing so much as a smothered sob.

Evan held his breath.

"I understand."

Who the hell was she talking to?

"Yes, sir. I _fully_ understand what is expected of me."

Her voice had become strained; he could only guess that she was upset, and he was beginning to feel surprisingly defensive of his Captain of the Guard. Her actions the previous night suggested that she had not expected him to be the least bit kind to her, and yet for the good of her people, she had volunteered for this marriage.

"If it comes to that, I will make that sacrifice gladly," Relu said.

Evan was an ODST. He was used to being sent on unpleasant missions. But Lak and the Sangheili had clearly done their best to be as good to him as possible given the circumstances. It sounded as though Relu had not received the same consideration.

"As you will, sir." The portal spiraled open and Relu stepped out with tremendous speed, body-checking him and sending him staggering. Even as he struggled to regain his balance and get air back into his lungs, Evan was glad that Sangheili ships did not have the kind of doors that swung on a hinge. She would have undoubtedly flattened him with it had that been the case.

"Evan!" Relu exclaimed. "I am sorry…I…Are you all right?"

"Fine," Evan said, though his voice wheezed a bit. "I…I'm fine. How are _you_?"

Relu's previous scowl softened. Her bottom mandibles quivered. "Resigned, Evan."

"To what?"

"The Council is demanding proof of our mating after our marriage ceremony."

_Oh, shit_, Evan thought. "What does that mean?" He tried to keep his own voice steady, and failed. "They're going to make us do it in front of everyone?"

Relu huffed. "No, thank the Gods, though let us not offer that suggestion. Right now, they want me to submit to having their doctors put their filthy claws on me for an examination after the fact." She shuddered in revulsion.

Evan couldn't help but feel bad for her—that really was a humiliating demand—though he was also feeling a good helping of self-pity as well. "I guess there's no way for us to put off consummating this marriage, huh? Get to know each other first, before we try, uh, the mating thing?"

Relu's eyes shined sadly. "To do so would be a dereliction of duty."

"It's not your fault," Evan told her. "You were willing... What can you do about it if I choose not to comply?" He did not want to imagine her overpowering him, though it was possible that she could.

Her eyes shone. "I will not force you." Her tongue licked her mandibles. "And I will not speak of this shame but..." Her jaws quivered, all four at once. "The examination would make it clear that we did not..." She swallowed. "It would bode ill for everyone. Not just you and I, but our peoples. Our alliance."

And that, when it came right down to it, was the heart of the matter. This match was not about whether Evan Doucette found aliens attractive, any more than it was about whether Relu fancied him. He and Relu had been made into symbols, and their marriage was also symbolic of the link uniting two peoples.

Humanity had lost most of its colonies in the war; there was much rebuilding to be done. The number of human beings living today was less than one percent of what it had been before the Covenant threat arrived. The Brutes were still out there; the Flood could return; or perhaps there were other threats out there in space, still waiting to reveal themselves. Humanity was still at risk, and the risk was greater if they were alone in a hostile universe. Sanghelios, on the other hand, had survived the war mostly unscathed. Humanity needed the Sangheili's raw resources and technical assistance to climb back to its prior state, or more people would die in the years to come.

Humanity needed this alliance. And for Evan to risk his species' future on a matter of personal taste was unconscionable. He was an ODST, sworn to defend Humanity by any means necessary.

So, like Relu, he would do his duty. He would do what the Sangheili people expected of him in order to earn their trust and cement their alliance with Humanity. He would not gamble that alliance on whether or not he and Relu could successfully deceive the other Sangheili.

"If I tell you I cannot take such a risk..." Evan began.

Relu bowed her head. "Then I would say you are a warrior to be respected, Evan Doucette. The honourable course of action is often not the easiest."

Evan reached out for her hand. "I'm so sorry, Relu. I never wanted this for you."

Relu squeezed back, and said, "It might not yet come to that." But though her words seemed hopeful, her eyes were unspeakably sad.


	4. Chapter 4: Ask Me For My Sacrifice

**Author's Note**: I'd like to thank again everyone who has showed their support for this story. If you liked this, please check out my other fics.

**Rules of Engagement**

**Chapter the Fourth: Ask Me For My Sacrifice  
**

Evan had not expected his wedding to be a circus.

He stood on a dais in the public square in front of a huge, ornate, piller-decorated building that Lak had said was the 'Mortum Temple. Evan wasn't entirely clear what had happened to Sangheili theology once the Covenant had collapsed, but apparently the Elites had decided that if one possessed an impressive ceremonial edifice, one might as well make the most of it. Similar use was being made of a quartet of Priestesses with bejeweled anklets and embroidered robes, who, right now, were chanting verses in front of the sea of Sangheili who packed the square in front of him.

Evan was the star attraction. Every Sangheili was looking at him. It made his skin crawl after so many years of trying to avoid aliens' notice while he fought to kill them before they killed him. Many gawked openly; Evan had to resist his natural impulse to stare them down. He had to remember that he was the curiousity here. The majority of these Sangheili were not warriors and would never have seen a real Human being before. They would form their opinions of Humans based on what he did, and if he were to act aggressively or rudely, the repercussions would be felt far beyond his own experiences on Sanghelios.

So instead of glaring back at them, he smiled and waved his hand in the up-down motion that Lak had taught him meant a polite greeting.

Many of the Sangheili hesitantly waved in return. Evan's breath caught as he watched a mature female boosting her young, first one, than another, then a third, in order to give each of them a good look at him. He did not know whether to take comfort in the familiar gesture—his own father had done the same at parades when he had been a toddler—or to be discomfited that he was the focus of their attention, like an animal in a zoo.

Lor'n 'Malach, in full ceremonial armour, sidled close to him. "Do you have your gun?" Lor'n asked in a low, urgent voice.

Evan had deliberately chosen not to wear any kind of weapon to the wedding, not even his service pistol. He hadn't wanted to appear aggressive or hostile towards the Sangheili at his first major public event. "No," he replied, and got a funny feeling in his stomach as he watched Lor'n's skin turn ashy grey.

"But...you must!" the Sangheili protested.

All of a sudden Evan wondered what he'd been thinking. The Sangheili were a martial people. They wouldn't freak out at the sight of a gun the way human civilians would. Without one, they'd probably think he was some kind of...well, _sissy _didn't even begin to cover it. Sangheili would never give their respect or their serious consideration to a creature that did not display its skill with weaponry.

"Your ways are different than ours," Evan hissed in retort. "If you think I need a weapon, find me one!"

Lor'n, unhesitatingly, handed Evan the plasma pistol from off his own hip, and the energy sword from his hand. "I will try to find your personal weapons," he replied in a low voice, "but I cannot guarantee..."

At that moment, a loud fanfare of music ripped Lor'n's words away.

Evan did not know how to describe the group of Sangheili, dressed in green robes, who assisted the Priestesses. Acolytes? Slaves? Altar boys and girls? Right now, half their number had procured musical instruments and were playing something that Evan guessed might be the Sangheili version of the wedding march.

With a Covenant plasma pistol clipped to his belt and the hilt of a Sangheili energy sword jammed awkwardly in his left pocket, wearing a brand-new suit of ODST jump armour, Major Evan Doucette turned to greet his bride.

Relu, emerging from the Temple behind him, was not at all as he'd been expecting.

She was not wearing a veil, or any of the typical Human accoutrements. Lak had inquired and Evan had vetoed the idea; the notion of dressing up a Sangheili in a veil and garter to fit her would simply have been grotesque. Evan knew he would think of the trained bears he'd seen in the circus as a child, wearing little suits and pinnafores, riding on tricycles, performing tricks that made them look like they were cooking, working, dancing. Animals in human suits, balancing a highwire between comical and horrible.

Relu was not human and there was no point in any pretense.

But this...this was not at all what he'd imagined.

Evan realized he'd been expecting to see her as the other Sangheili were, with their battle armour polished to a mirror shine, their clothing enhanced with fur cloaks and ornamental pins, their weapons held in some alien equivalent of present-arms. He was getting married in uniform; it seemed natural that she would do the same.

But on Earth, most military females chose to forgo their uniforms for traditional dress. And it seemed Relu had done this as well.

She wore a headdress with a beaded circlet and suspended jewels that reminded Evan of an ancient Egyptian princess. She had traded her armour for a silken..._kimono _was the closest word he had to describe it, though the garment wrapped about her shoulder in a manner more reminiscent of a sari, and it was trimmed in an ornate lace. Her arms carried golden bracelets of various widths that chimed like bells when she moved; her waist and neck were draped with more of that same fine beadwork that hung in loops from her headdress.

Evan held his breath when he realized that she was beautiful.

Not the slightest bit human and yet, still beautiful. She kept her eyes downcast as she moved towards him.

Relu was almost to his side when Evan realized that she was walking alone. No bridesmaids, no escort, no proud father at her side. Could that be normal? From what he knew of Sangheili, he would have expected them to be more possessive of their females. He glanced away from Relu, his eyes sweeping the crowd. Surely some of these Sangheili in the forward galleries had to be her family. Surely...

He spotted them then, a tall, heavy-set male who wore his authority like he wore the brilliant magenta cloak on his shoulders. He was staring straight ahead like a soldier about to be inspected. He looked as though he had been carved from stone.

Not so the female at his side. She was patting her eyes over and over; her mandibles quivered. She seemed agitated. A younger female put her arm around the matron and held her close, while six shorter females gawked at him and Relu. The smallest, who appeared young, waved enthusiastically at Relu. Evan watched in disbelief as the male at her side cuffed her to make her stop.

If these were Relu's family, they did not seem particularly happy. Evan felt his stomach twist with trepadation. His married friends had complained that their mothers-in-law were monsters, but Evan's new in-laws were monsters quite literally...

No. He had to stop thinking of his bride as a monster.

Evan shot a glance at Relu. She took one more step to join him. She blinked, her eyes large, and then she ducked her long, sinuous neck in a gesture that seemed strangely shy. Her eyelids opened and closed, and then she peeked at him from half-hooded eyes.

To stand still would be the best option, the least likely to cause unintended cultural offense, and yet, Evan chose to take a gamble anyway. He reached out his hand and touched hers.

Evan did not understand most of the ceremony; his translators had dutifully reported on the words spoken, but he did not know their significance. It seemed very short. From what he had gathered from Lak previously, the traditional wedding involved vows regarding the producing of offspring and the making of war. These had been stripped away, leaving only the formal allegiance between two clans, expanded to join two peoples.

And now, as the Priestesses led the married couple into the Temple, Evan glanced at his new wife and realized that something was wrong with Relu.

Evan still didn't know much about Sangheili, but he'd spent enough time with Relu in the past week to know what _nervous Sangheili girl_ looked like, and this wasn't it. He remembered how she had dropped her eyes when he'd spoken to her, how she'd twitched when he'd taken her hand, how any compliment could put purple in her cheeks. He had expected her to be more timid and shy than ever on her wedding night.

Instead, now that the ceremony was over, her whole demeanour had changed. Her body hummed with a tension that Evan couldn't quite put his finger on. Her head was up, eyes wide, and she sniffed the air from time to time. She seethed with restless energy, tapping her claws and clicking her mandibles as though she had to bleed off the excess lest she explode with it.

Evan wondered, uncomfortably, if this was what an aroused Sangheili looked like.

If it was, he told himself, he shouldn't complain. Relu had signed up for this duty; he liked her well enough not to wish her a miserable experience.

Evan realized how little he knew about the post-ceremony plans. Somehow in the course of the past week he'd neglected to ask if there would be a dinner, a reception, a...a honeymoon. He'd been so busy trying to wrap his mind around the notion of this marriage that he had never asked the simple questions.

"Where are we going now?" he asked her.

Relu bowed her head, but her words were terse and clipped. The shy girl he had just married had faded away, replaced entirely by his Captain of the Guard; even the wedding robe could not soften the steel in her bearing now. "Tomorrow, we will be travelling to the Ambassadorial suite in the 'Vadum compound." She must have seen the question in his eyes, because she continued, "In most cases, the bride and groom spend this night in the breeding chamber of the bride's keep. The next day, the groom takes his new wife home to his keep. But..." She bit down on her lower left mandible. "For security reasons, it was deemed unwise for us to travel to my father's keep. And for diplomatic reasons, the ceremony was held here at the Temple square. So it made the best sense for us to spend this night in the Temple's breeding chamber." He watched her hands twisting the beads at her waist. "It is a great honour for me to be allowed admittance there. That chamber is typically for Priestesses alone."

Evan watched in disbelief as the Priestesses paused to admit a young Sangheili female into their group. The girl trotted up to Relu and handed her an energy pike. _Her_ energy pike, Evan realized when he saw the orange ribbon on its handle. The young female whispered a few quick words and then darted away. Then Lor'n came up on his left and pressed something into Evan's hands—his service Magnum. Evan stared at the weapon, though the Sangheili around him seemed to take no notice. The group moved on.

Strange tradition, Evan thought, and then they passed through the doors of the Temple proper.

The inside of the Temple was extreme in its opulence, reminding Evan of the Palace of Versailles. Huge mirrors and magnificent tapestries hung on the walls. Statues stood on pedestals. Thick furs carpeted the floor. Doorways were skilfully carved from marble and encrusted with precious stones. Evan realized he was probably gawking, and shot a glance at Relu.

Relu stalked beside him, moving like a warrior, oblivious to the riches around her.

The Priestesses led them to a chamber and bowed their heads. Evan, curious, opened the door and entered, with Relu at his side.

The bed within was huge, easily big enough for two Sangheili couples. A thick rug lay before the bed in addition to the furs covering the floor. A fireplace burned in one corner, sending showers of sparks up a chimney and warming the stones in the room. Tapestries depicting…Evan glanced away. He didn't need to see Sangheili couples engaged in lovemaking, no matter how valuable the art was.

Instead, he looked at Relu. She slammed a bolt hard across the door and then turned, sweeping the room, her gaze lingering on the windows and, briefly, the chimney. She glanced under the bed, snorted, and returned her attention to the door. She clenched her hands around her pike.

Evan didn't know what had caused her dark mood, but this was not going well. What had gotten into her? He gestured to the energy pike. "You're not taking that to bed with us, are you?" he asked, forcing his mouth into a grin he did not feel.

Relu moved too quickly for him to follow. One moment she was standing before him, the next she'd half-turned and sidestepped until her back was pressed against his. "Draw your weapons," she breathed, her voice tight, and in that moment Evan recognized the nature of her tension. In this emotion, Humans and Sangheili were much the same. It was the same tension Evan himself had felt while sitting in a drop pod, waiting for launch.

Relu was ready for a _fight_, Evan realized, and just as he wondered if she intended to fight _him_, the door to their room disintegrated in the blast of a plasma cannon.

Evan did not recognize the five Sangheili who crowded through the door, though one of them was bleeding from a deep gash on his arm. They all wore nondescript blue armour. Out in the corridor, a Sangheili roared in challenge; Evan hoped it was Lor'n as the sound of a Covenant carbine firing reached his ears. Then he had no more time to listen to the fight in the hall, for he had fight enough in his own quarters.

At first, Evan felt his hands freeze in position, one on the firing stud of his plasma pistol, one on the trigger of his Magnum. This could be some Sangheili tradition he didn't understand, and he didn't want to start an intergalactic incident by shooting an ally.

The cannon-toting Sangheili raised his weapon, worting loudly. He fired off a shot that caused Evan to dodge to the left to avoid the blast. As he hit the ground and rolled, Evan realized that the newcomers weren't part of some symbolic tradition. This battle was real.

Relu dodged right and leapt forwar. Her energy pike came down in a scything arc. The gunman's plasma cannon fell to the floor—along with both his arms.

The other Sangheili leaped to the attack, swords in hand. Evan needed no more proof that these uninvited guests meant to do them harm. He fired his plasma pistol, sending a glowing ball of green light flying across the room. It caught one of the Sangheili in the chest, making him laugh evilly as his shields took the damage.

The bastard was still laughing when Evan sent a Magnum bullet soaring across the room and into the Sangheili's skull.

The other three swordsmen were trying to attack Relu, but her spinning staff made it impossible for any of them to get within sword's reach of her. Two of them started circling her instead, knowing she could not withstand blade attacks from three directions. But unfortunately for the assassins, this maneuver left one of them far enough away from Relu that Evan could get off a good shot without risking hitting his bride.

The plasma ball rocketed into Evan's target, but this assassin was not stupid. He'd already been in the process of throwing himself to the ground, not fast enough to avoid the plasma blast, but in time for Evan's bullet to miss. Unfortunately for him, he'd been on his belly with his shields down when Relu pivoted and impaled him on her staff.

The other two assassins rushed her. Relu jerked her staff backwards, even with the weight of the body hanging on the sharp end. The blunt tip caught one of her assailants in the lightly-armoured stomach area and sent him staggering back.

The other, though, leaped forward with his blade outstretched.

Evan aimed both his guns, but now Relu was in amongst the targets, and he dared not fire. He could only stand there and watch as the assassin's blade sank home.

The ODST found himself launching forward before he could process any conscious thoughts. He felt the Magnum fall from his right hand. His left hand jammed the plasma pistol against Relu's attacker, fired it. His right hand, moving as if of its own volition, came up holding the sword hilt. Evan pressed the trigger, bisecting the hostile Sangheili from the base of his spine to the nape of his neck.

Evan was not used to the sword, and it had entered the Sangheili at an awkward angle. His hand, covered in blue blood, slipped on the hilt as the dead Sangheili sagged, pulling the sword downward. The hilt was not designed for human hands and Evan had trouble finding the firing stud to turn it off again. The dead Sangheili was desperately heavy.

In slow motion, Evan saw Relu's final attacker rally, catch his balance, drop his sword. Draw a plasma rifle. Point it, not at Relu, but at him.

Evan tried to raise his plasma pistol, but the immense weight of the dead Sangheili made it difficult for him to concentrate on aiming with one arm while he was struggling to free his sword with the other. He fired off a volley of shots. Most of them missed; the one that hit was not sufficiently charged to strip the attacker's shields.

Evan saw the Sangheili's mandibles snap shut in a cold smile. The alien's hand tightened on the trigger.

Then Evan felt something strike him in the side and send him staggering clear.

Relu.

The plasma blast hit her in the chest. She fell backwards, not stumbling, no arm lowered to break her fall, just a sick and final toppling of the woman who was to have been his wife.

Who _was_ his wife.

Evan did not remember when he realized it was possible for him to simply let go of the energy sword. The UNSC's ingrained training to _hang onto his weapon _had been too strong, even in this situation where a bladed weapon was very different from a gun. Either he'd lost his grip on it when Relu hit him, or it finally crossed his mind to dump the hilt and the dead Sangheili impaled upon it—he would never know which. What he did know was that he found himself running at the last Sangheili, screaming in rage and wild-eyed fury, his vision hazed in red.

He punched the alien bastard square in the mandibles. It was too shocked to do much of anything with the gun it carried until Evan was on it, listening to a satisfying _crack_ that doubtlessly meant some of its jaws, as well as some of his fingers, were broken. The pain, if anything, energized him. He pressed the plasma pistol to its stomach and yanked the trigger.

The monster's armour soaked the damage, of course, but Evan threw his arm around its shoulders and hung on. The Sangheili, roaring and spewing a spittle of blue blood from its mouth, lifted its gun arm, only to discover it could not aim at a Human that clung to its own body. It wheeled, trying to shake Evan loose, but he held on desperately and pulled the trigger of the plasma pistol again.

Round and round they spun, like a couple at a dance, whirling faster and faster. Evan did his best to stamp his boots down on its feet, hoping to hobble it, to no effect. A third shot in the gut. The Sangheili bumped into the bed, tumbled backwards with Evan on top of it. Evan landed heavily, pinning the thing to the bed while he jammed the pistol down its throat and pulled the trigger one last time.

Evan left the Sangheili dying in a gurgle of blood as he slid off and surveyed the room. Counting the Sangheili on the bed, four of the assassins lay dead or dying. The fifth—the armless one—had crept off, leaving its limbs behind. Somewhere in the corridor, shots and shouting could still be heard.

And Relu lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling, one hand clutching her chest.

Evan sprinted to his wife's side, watching in horror at the widening bloodstain on her wedding robe.

No. He had to take charge if he was to save her. She was still bleeding. That meant she wasn't dead yet.

Evan didn't hesitate. Even as he started yelling for help, he ripped strips of cloth from the wide hem of her robes. He folded the cloth quickly and inserted it under her grasping hand, then pressed down, encouraging her to hold the makeshift bandage over the wound to stop the bleeding.

Two Sangheili he'd never seen before appeared in the doorway, both in red armour. Evan realized, to his sudden terror, that he had no way of identifying if these Elites were allies, or more assassins. He wanted to tell them to help Relu, but he did not dare turn her over to enemies.

"Where's Lor'n?" he asked instead.

"He does battle in the corridor," one of the Elites said hesitantly.

"Then you go get him, as soon as he's able, to come in here. Understand?"

"Yes, my lord!" The Elite was out the door in a blur of red.

"And you," Evan said to the other one, "I want you to fetch the doctor. Got it?"

"Yes, my liege!"

He was gone in a blink as well. Evan was left with nothing to do but try to think of how his first aid training would apply to a Sangheili. The basic principles had to be the same, didn't they? Stop the bleeding, check the breathing and heartbeat...

Evan had forgotten that step. He put his hand on Relu's muzzle, trying to figure out where Sangheili breathed. Funny how he'd never realized before that there were no nostrils on the blunt, rounded snout he'd always thought of as the end of her nose.

When he touched her, her eyes suddenly blinked and her mandibles flared, gasping in air. She struggled, thrashing to get up. Evan put both hands firmly on her wound, pressing the bandage to her wound and Relu herself to the ground.

"Ssssh. Lay still," he said gently. "Help is on the way."

Her eyes rolled. "The assassins..."

"Gone," he assured her, though he checked the corners of the room just to be sure. The noise in the hallway was distant now. "You're safe, Relu."

"_You're_ safe." She sounded as though she were correcting him.

"Tell my father…" Her teeth snapped shut, as though she rode a wave of pain, and then she drew breath to speak again. "Tell him I made this sacrifice."

Evan was still puzzling over those words when Lor'n arrived, along with two Sangheili carrying a stretcher. They loaded Relu onto the cot and hustled her away without waiting for Evan to follow. When he stepped forward, Lor'n moved to block his path.

"Are you injured?"

"I'm fine. We need to go with Relu," Evan insisted. He looked around the blood-splattered, plasma-singed room that was supposed to have been his honeymoon suite and was taken aback by the powerful feeling of loss that settled in the pit of his stomach. Last week he would have been happy for anything that could get him out of this wedding.

Lor'n, however, did not seem inclined to move. "I must stay to protect you," he said, clearly evading the question.

_If he wants to talk, then I will make him talk_, Evan thought. "What did she mean?" Evan asked Lor'n. "Her last words. _I made this sacrifice._ She wants me to tell her father—but what does it mean?"

Lor'n regarded him strangely. "I would be shocked if Lak did not warn you about what tends to happen on Sanghelios when an individual has just received a large promotion."

Evan thought for a moment and then his blood ran cold.

_ How do Sangheili test new kaidons? By sending assassins._

"You let those assassins through?" Evan asked coldly.

_I will make this sacrifice gladly._ She'd said that in his quarters, that first night when they'd eaten steak together and watched cartoons. And he'd asked her opinion on sex and she had said _it might not come to that_.

Evan felt his throat close when he realized that Relu had known the assassins would come.

Oh, God, she _had known_.

And she'd chosen to die for him.

Lor'n huffed. "Of course not. But their presence was a foregone conclusion. We cannot tell which of our number harbour rebel sympathizers. Well, now we have at least nine fewer traitors in our midst."

"Nine?" Evan demanded.

Lor'n beamed. "I myself slew two of them; my trainees took another pair." He frowned. "It seems the guards on the other side of the hall fared more poorly, since this lot reached your quarters. I am ashamed of their failure, as I assisted in their training."

"Don't worry about it," Evan said quickly. "Missions don't always go the way you planned." He was simply relieved that his guards had actually tried to keep him safe. Now he needed to find his wife, and make sure she was all right.

_My God. What woman marries a man, knowing she'll be asked to give her life for him?_

He stepped forward until his chest was a bare inch away from Lor'n's. "I'm going to see Relu now. You can come with me…or you can move out of my way."

Lor'n fidgeted uncomfortably. "Are you sure you want to do that?"

Evan gave him a strange look. "She's my wife, and she's injured. Why wouldn't I want to see her?"

The other Sangheili bowed his head. "This way."

#

Evan stared.

There was no medical equipment here. No IVs on stands. No computers with wires and sensors. No breathing tubes. There were not even trays carrying needles and swabs.

What there was, was a row of cots down one side of the room and a row of tables on the other. The cots held Sangheili, either curled up into tight little balls or languishing on their backs with one or more limbs dangling limply off the edge of the beds. The tables, on the other hand, supported occupants who were strapped down, secured in position with leather cuffs—or chains. These Sangheili wore masks on their faces which Evan had at first mistaken for breathing apparatus. Up close, they looked more like muzzles, or gags.

There was a stink in the air—the smell of blood, offal, sweat, and pain. There were no nurses or doctors in sight.

Evan was not sure if he felt more sickened or enraged as he rounded on Lor'n and demanded, in a thick, strangled voice, "What is this place?" The words tore at his throat like glass shards as he forced them through his narrowed airway.

Something in his expression caused his bodyguard to flinch back. "It is..." His mandibles churned. "I do not know your word...ward?"

"Who is treating them?" Evan asked, his voice a low hiss. He grabbed Lor'n by the armour plate on his chest. "Where are the doctors?"

Lor'n continued to grope for an English translation. "Palli...palliative? Hospice?" He studied Evan's blank expression and gave up on words in favour of description. "This is where the seriously injured are left to heal...or to die."

Evan's gaze darted frantically up the row until they fell on the bed in the corner. Shoved back, lying in shadow, was the still form of a Sangheili in a white gown.

Evan ran down the corridor, heedless to the Sangheili thrashing in pain on the tables or those quietly groaning on the beds. He watched Relu's sides, willing them to move.

The blood on her dress was drying now, but her chest still moved. Shallowly, weakly, but she lived. For now.

Evan had thought he could not possibly be angrier—that any more fury added to the volatile mix in his heart and soul would cause him to explode from the pressure. It turned out, though, that there was a whole new level of rage he had never before experienced. All the hot, burning, churning energy inside him went suddenly and terribly still, diamond-hard and unspeakably cold. His voice, when he spoke, was frosted with the hint of a deadly winter, the promise of a vengeance that would never burn itself out, but would instead last forever, punishing, pitiless, eternally unyielding. "You will get the doctors, Lor'n. You will tell them they will treat her, and after her, these others. And if they refuse, we will shoot the one who speaks for them and we will ask it of the next. And the next. And we will go on until Relu is saved or until this entire world is ash, do you hear me, Lor'n?"

Lor'n was gaping at him, mandibles hanging open, as though he'd never truly seen Evan before, not until now. Evan watched the huge roundness of Lor'n's remaining eye and he suddenly realized that Lor'n himself must have once been relegated a place like this. He did not have a neatly sewn slit where his other eye used to be; instead, a huge, wrinkled, purple furrow twisted its way across the side of Lor'n's face.

A deep, feral growl rippled from Lor'n's throat, and for a brief moment Evan wondered if he had made a fatal error. Then, with a sharp nod, Lor'n bolted for the door.


	5. Chapter 5: My Place To Stand

**Author's Note: **Thanks to everyone for your patience while I took a few extra days to edit this chapter. If you enjoyed this story, I hope you will check out my other stories. Thanks very much to everyone who's taken the time to review, add this story to their favourites, or add me to their favourite author lists. I appreciate the assistance in getting the "word out" about my stories.

Also, the chapter titles are drawn from the song "Winter Born (This Sacrifice)" by the Cruxshadows. Everyone go hit youtube and check it out.

**Rules of Engagement**

**Chapter the Fifth: My Place To Stand**

Relu 'Chavam's eyelids fluttered. The light was bright, so bright. It hurt.

She closed her eyes and used her other senses instead. A cool breeze caressed the back of her neck and head, bringing with it a sweet smell of greenery, flowers and fresh water. A soft blanket made of suede covered her lower body to ward off chills. She was lying somewhere soft, with her head on a pillow.

She felt...strange. Her chest ached, but the pain felt distant, as though it were many miles behind her. The sensation confused her. She should have…

Her mandibles flared and her eyes opened as she remembered.

She'd stepped in front of the assassin and taken the shot he'd intended for Evan.

Relu remembered the human pressing his hand to her wound, looking down at her with an expression of concern. That had been...nice. She had seen warriors on the battlefield tending to their brothers in arms. It had been good to be accepted at last.

Then there were a few snatches of memory—the wetness of blood on her fingers, the sensation of being lifted, the pain. The floor in the damned death ward, her mouth dry, her chest burning. Gritting her mandibles and waiting for her life to ebb away.

Her eyes adjusted to the light and she saw the room she was in now. It was large, made of white stone and clay, with big, airy windows and arched doorways. Plants stood in vases on stands and tumbled in profusion from window boxes. Relu was lying in a vast bed, wearing clothing she did not recognize: a simple cream-coloured gown that tied shut in front.

The Arbiter had said the Great Journey was a lie. Relu was not sure what she thought of that. She believed, right away, that the Prophets had known nothing of the divine. They were liars and charlatans, pretending a closeness to gods they did not even believe in. Whether or not the gods themselves were a lie, well, that was something that could never be proved or disproved in this lifetime. Relu had continued to obey the daily prayer rituals while she waited for a sign to the contrary.

And then she had given her life to win her honour.

It seemed that she had been judged worthy of the Great Journey after all, though she had never imagined the afterlife as an elegant yet simple room. She had imagined a, well, a _journey_, an arduous trek of trial and challenge, refining a Sangheili soul into a divine being.

Confused, Relu sat up. Her body still ached with the phantom remnants of her mortal wounds. Her mouth was dry and her throat ached.

Relu glanced about and noticed, of all things, a glass of water on the bedside table, with a straw in it. Delighted, Relu picked up the glass and drank deeply. The water soothed her throat; she purred with pleasure.

What else was that on the table? Two metal tags on a chain. A leather pouch of some sort. A paper folder containing English words—_book_, they called it. Human things.

Relu thought, smugly, that the Prophets were wrong. Humans were clearly part of the Journey. She could smell them now, when she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Humans had been here, not long ago. Humans and Sangheili both.

But there was no one here now, and she felt strange to be standing at this threshold alone. Relu forced herself to her feet, gasping in surprise as a spear of pain lanced down her chest. She staggered, clutching her hearts, forcing air into smouldering lungs.

Did she still need to breathe? Why this pain, now? What...?

There was a clattering of footsteps somewhere outside, and then two figures appeared in the doorway. Relu's eyes widened in shock as she sank back down onto the bed again.

One was Human, one Sangheili. A Human in a dress uniform, his dominant hand wrapped in splints and bandages, and a Sangheili in battle armour, carrying an energy pike.

Major Evan Doucette and Lor'n 'Malach.

Perhaps she had failed in her sacrifice after all, and Evan and Lor'n had followed her onto the Journey, but the continuing pain in her body suggested that it was more likely that they were all_ alive_.

"Relu!" Evan exclaimed, and darted to her side. "What are you doing?" the Human asked, as he sat down next to her and touched her shoulder with his uninjured left hand.. "You're still recovering. Don't push yourself. You could aggravate your injuries."

Relu stared at Evan's hand on hers, and two emotions warred within her. Her husband seemed genuinely concerned for her. He had reached out for her automatically, no hesitation, no sign of revulsion, and even now her hide was touching his skin, which was warm and slightly damp but not unpleasant. It gave her a strange glowing sensation that warred with a dark frustration blooming inside her guts. When it reached a critical point, Relu tore away from Evan and ripped the top of her gown open to see bandages wound around her chest.

She was definitely alive, and to have survived that sort of injury...

"What doctor put his filthy claws on me?" she snapped.

Lor'n gave a longsuffering sigh and told her what Evan had done. There had been no casualties among the medical staff—apparently anyone unconvinced by Lor'n's roaring was won over by the look on Evan's face that day. The doctors Lor'n had brought had sewn together what the renegade's blade had cut asunder, and then they had treated the plasma burns on Relu's chest.

"You were lucky you were wearing light armour," Evan said quietly, "under your wedding gown."

Lucky? It had been her _duty_, to keep herself alive long enough to defend her mate.

"Oh?" she retorted, giving voice to the frustration inside herself. "Am I lucky, to be married to a fool?"

#

Lor'n had warned him that Relu might not appreciate his extreme measures on her behalf, but Evan had ignored his Sangheili associate's advice. He could not imagine that the strong, constant warrior woman he had married might actually want to die.

Now, though, he was getting a sinking feeling that he might have offered Relu the worst insult of all.

"How am I a fool?" he asked, struggling to keep his voice level, knowing that if any of the frustration—no, _fury_—he felt at the Sangheili exaltation of needless suffering showed through, she would interpret it as an attack on her self and not her barbaric beliefs.

Relu drew her gown around herself again, tying the two halves shut. "We were both on the verge of getting what we wanted. I was about to die a hero, finally graced with battle honours. And you..." Her eyes closed. "You were..." She tore her eyelids open, looking right at him as she spoke the words, refusing to back down, not even for this. "You were about to be rid of your unwanted wife, and free to choose what mate you would."

Evan was shocked by her implications, though distantly he realized that they were not meant as an insult. It was common here to treat life cheaply. But he was not, and never would be, the sort of man to ask Relu to pay for these unfortunate circumstances with her life.

"And now?" he asked gently. "What becomes of us now?"

Relu snorted. "Now I must live down the shame of being operated upon and you...you must eventually fulfill your duty to mate with your wife."

Evan offered her a smile. "I notice you seem to fear the doctor more than I."

Her liquid eyes looked into his. "You have been nothing but kind to me, Evan of Doucette. I am beginning to think a mating might...not be unpleasant," she blurted, clearly flustered, wringing her hands as her cheeks shaded to purple. "At least not for me. But I know you do not want this. I do not understand why you did not take the obvious solution before you. Your actions with the doctors might well have endangered our alliance."

"I know what I will tell your Council, but I will tell you this now: humans, like Sangheili, have degrees of honour. Some are honourable, and some are not. And any human being with any honour at all values his family above his own life."

Relu blinked at him with an expression of mild puzzlement.

Oh, God. She really didn't understand.

Evan dared to take her hand. "I married you. That makes us family."

Evan watched her mandibles spread like the petals of a flower. Her hand gripped his. Yes, now she understood.

Lor'n sidestepped uncomfortably. "The Council are most disturbed by this development, Evan."

"Then tell them I will explain myself. Tomorrow. Today I will be with my family." He smiled at Relu. Tentatively, she smiled back.

#

Relu's chest still ached painfully, but she refused to remain in the home while Evan went before the Sangheili Council. Truth be told, she was frightened for him.

He had been supposed to make his first statement before the Council on the day after the wedding. Instead, he had spent his time since the wedding watching over Relu after her operation, taking shifts with Lor'n to make sure at least one of them was awake and on guard at any given time.

It felt strange to have her human mate think so highly of her, that he would do so much to protect her. Lor'n had confessed that he envied her; he had wished that someone had cared for his welfare when he had lost his eye.

Now, though, Evan might be about to pay for his generosity.

Evan walked beside her through the grand archway to the Sangheili Council chambers, permitting her to lean against him when she was tired. In ancient history, this room had been used as a meeting place for kaidons. It was where the leaders of Sangheilos had signed the Covenant with the Prophets long ago. Now, with the Prophets gone, it was where fifty of the most powerful kaidons and the handful of surviving Sangheili Covenant Councilors sat in Council under the rule of the Arbiter.

Currently they spent most of their time debating how the new government should be formed. The kaidons were restless, wishing to be back in their keeps looking after their city-states rather than gathered together here; and yet many of them were reluctant to appoint ambassadors who might someday become more powerful than they. Lor'n had said that it was difficult for the Arbiter to conduct the regular government business of lawmaking when the Sangheili had yet to decide how their government should run, or what it ought to do with its power now that the Brutes were in retreat, the rebels were in hiding, and the Covenant was in tatters.

And today, Evan would stand before the Council and be forced to justify his scandalous actions in saving her life.

Relu took a seat in the side galleries. These chairs were reserved for the handful of non-Councilors who were allowed to view the proceedings, such as the chronologers who recorded the meetings for posterity, and additional members of the Honour Guard who were on hand in case of disturbances. These other Sangheili stared at Relu now. It was rare for guests to be permitted into the hall, and only Evan's insistence had brought her here. Truthfully, Relu was nervous about flouting tradition in this manner; she had agreed only because if it came down to it, she would risk her life once more to protect her husband.

"You will be well?" Evan asked.

Relu nodded. "Be careful," she whispered. "You have broken our traditions, and brought shame upon me in what some will feel as a mark of disrespect."

Evan scowled. "I disrespected you by saving your life."

She bowed her head, embarrassed and confused. She was… In truth, she was not sorry to be alive. She had been so happy last night. Evan had sat beside her in the bed and fed her fruit, stroked her hide, and they had talked late into the night, their hands clasped together. She had offered to mate, but he had said he wished her to heal first, so that the experience would not hurt her. Instead she had simply savoured his tenderness.

It had been…good.

But now, as the censorious eyes of her people glared at her, she felt guilty for her continued survival.

And she felt fear for the Human she had come to care for.

She watched Evan make his way down the paths to the Speaker's Dais, where the Arbiter called the assembly to order and then offered the traditional Speaker's Staff to Evan to hold as he addressed the Council.

"Mighty Arbiter, wise Council, people of Sangheilios," Evan began, using the all the proper honourifics. Relu nodded—Lak had clearly taught him the appropriate titles, and he had listened. But it would take more than a proper address to win over the frowning Councilors seated around him. "It is my honour to be here today as the first Human Ambassador to Sanghelios."

In the front row, a Sangheili in a gold cloak rose to his feet and roared, "Honour? You were to be here _days _ago! What disrespect is this?"

The Arbiter also rose. "Silence! Zel 'Zamam, you will have your turn to speak, but not until Ambassador Doucette has said his piece."

The Zamam kaidon grumbled and sat down. Relu watched Evan draw a deep breath and continue. "As I am sure you are all aware, some of those allied to the renegade admiral Xytan Jar 'Wattin assaulted the 'Mortum temple in an attempt to kill myself and my wife. We fought them off, together, though my wife was injured in the attempt. I…"

Another Councilor rose to his feet on the other side of the room, and Relu caught her breath as she saw his magenta robe.

Barz 'Chavam.

Her father.

"Explain yourself!" the Kaidon of Chavam thundered. He left his seat, striding up the aisle to approach the dais. "Your wife offered her life for yours, and you spit all over her sacrifice!"

"'Chavam," the Arbiter said warningly.

"I will challenge this one!" her father snarled, and a gasp went up all around the Council chambers, for even the Arbiter would not be able to interfere should 'Chavam invoke the ancient call for a duel.

Relu held her breath as Evan squared off against the much larger Sangheili. He had to look up to meet the Councilor's gaze, but he never flinched as he met the alien eye-to-eye. "I am prepared to give my response to the Arbiter and the entire Council, not just to you alone."

"You will not duel me?"

"I am not afraid to fight you, Councilor, and I will if I must, but before this meeting degenerates into blows, I will have the Council hear me out! At this moment my reasoning is more important than my fighting skills." He turned his head. "Arbiter, may I request this Sangheili take his seat?"

The Arbiter nodded. "Granted. 'Chavam. Sit."

The Councilor snorted in one final attempt to intimidate Evan. It failed. Growling, Barz 'Chavam returned to his seat.

"Mighty Arbiter, wise Council, people of Sanghelios," Evan said. "Councilor 'Chavam has challenged me to defend my actions on the night of my wedding. I am prepared to do so."

The Sangheili all around murmured. Even the Arbiter flared his mandibles in what looked to Relu like apprehension.

"Since I was appointed to the position of Ambassador," Evan began, "I have worked hard to learn about Sanghelios and your people. Your customs. Your beliefs. Your history. I have been taught how to conduct myself in a manner befitting an Ambassador according to your tradition, and I have done my best to conform.

"I must confess that I was shocked when Lak informed me that the Council expected me to marry as an expression of the union of our peoples. My own people would never make such a personal imposition upon a public figure. And yet, for the sake of peace between us, I agreed.

"But in marrying Relu—in crossing the line between my public position as an Ambassador and my private role as a husband—Relu has crossed over from the public arena, before the people of Sanghelios, into the private realm of my personal life. And in my personal life, I can pretend to be none other than a Human being, a citizen of Earth, with all the customs and beliefs and history of my own kind. So, while in public I obey the rules of the Sangheili, in private I must act as befits my own nature. For surely Usze 'Taham and N'tho 'Sraom, the Sangheili ambassadors to Earth, still think as Sangheili?"

Evan paused, waiting for an answer. A few heads in the assembly nodded.

"And, in private, act as Sangheili, no matter how they behave in public when they are in the company of Humans?"

More nods.

"I do not doubt that should anyone on Earth tell Usze and N'tho that they must behave as Humans do at all times, even when they are alone, they would at best refuse and at worst spit the offender upon their blades? Is this not so?"

Many of the Councilors pounded their fists in approval. One or two even laughed.

"Then you understand that when I married Relu, I behaved towards her as a Human would behave towards his wife."

Now the Council seemed more intrigued than repulsed, save for her father, who snorted and said with disgust, "I accept that your behaviour is normal for your species. It does not make it _desirable_."

'Zamam added acidly, "So then the question is why a Human would be so weak-willed as to waste his time on the injured."

Evan raised his eyebrow. "Are you suggesting that Relu is unworthy to live?" he demanded of Zel 'Zamam.

The gold-robed Sangheili startled, as if surprised by Evan's challenge.

"Explain your logic, sir. Are you saying, before her father the kaidon, that her genetics are faulty?"

Councilor Chavam growled from across the room.

"I did not say that," 'Zamam protested.

"Then are you saying that Relu did not conduct herself well in battle?" Evan pressed. "I hardly believe that is fair. She was not injured because she made an error in combat. She was injured because she risked her life to save mine. If anything, the one who should have died was me, for the failing was mine. And yet that would have been such a shame on this Council, to lose its first Ambassador, proving this Council's might was insufficient to protect me."

The Councilors nodded.

"Still, it might be that some here consider Relu to be unworthy for other reasons. Not a desirable mate. Which gives me to wondering whether the Council sought to deliberately insult Humanity by offering me, their Ambassador, a substandard wife. Is that it? Was I offered Relu because no Sangheili would have her?"

Barz 'Chavam leapt to his feet. "She volunteered!" he proclaimed before the Council. "This lot may speak of the fact that she cannot bear young, but that is not her fault. She suffered…suffered…" He swallowed. "A cowardly blow, and the injury robbed her of the ability to be a mother. It is not genetic weakness and it is not any failing of her own. So she made of herself a warrior, and if there are males who dislike her for that, it is from _envy_ that she is a better soldier than they!" He puffed out his chest. "Relu was fearless in doing her duty, and fearless in offering herself as sacrifice!"

"And she did not beg for the doctor," Evan said, looking only at Relu's father. "That was my decision. I made that choice for her, and the fact that she lives now is my doing, and no failing of hers."

'Chavam folded his arms and roared, "Why did you bring down this indignity upon my daughter?"

"Because she will serve Sanghelios better alive than dead!" Evan retorted, and all around him the hall was silent.

Evan drew himself up and looked around, meeting the eyes of every Sangheili in the hall. "Since I came here, I have done my best to act in accordance with what I was told you would all like to see. I value the newfound bond between our peoples, and I do not wish to damage it. And yet, there are differences between us, and pretending that they do not exist will not make them go away. This, I believe, is one of them.

"It is the nature of my people to fight for the lives, the well-being, and the happiness of our family and our friends. And in marrying Relu, I have made her part of my family. I now value her life more than I do my own. I value her happiness beyond wealth…even beyond honour."

Relu watched as the Sangheili's eyes grew wide. _Oh, Evan, what are you doing?_

"So yes, I respect that your people are different from mine, and yes, I respect that our ways are not the same. But I hope that you, too, will respect that our ways are not yours. And I hope, now that the Covenant has fallen, that when the Sangheili people decide what will define them as a species from this point forward, I hope you will not choose a love of death. A love that asks you to sacrifice your best and brightest to early graves, rather than encouraging them to live and use their gifts to enrich us all."

Evan drew himself up and looked around. "Lak 'Vadam has told me that the Sangheili are a people in turmoil. For many generations you had trusted the Prophets to tell you what your gods desired. Then you discovered that the Prophets had been speaking self-serving lies, and so you cast them down, as they deserved."

The Sangheili cheered and roared.

"But now," Evan added once the noise died down, "now you wonder what to do with yourselves. Now you struggle to hear the voices of the gods. Now you seek to discover what in this life is valuable, if it is not a death in the service of the Covenant."

The Councilors murmured and exchanged glances.

"I do not presume to tell you what your answer is. That is something you must discover for yourselves. I can only tell you what _my _answer is. I, as a Human being—I fight for my family, my people, for those I care for. They are my reason for living. They are my justification for fighting. They are my motivation to become a better person than I am. And as Relu is my family, I will fight to protect her, no matter the odds I face."

Relu watched as her husband met the gaze of each and every Sangheili, and her throat grew dry as she heard his words for what they were…a. challenge. He looked, last, upon Barz 'Chavam. "So, Councilor Chavam, if you feel that I should not treasure your daughter more than this Council's opinion of me, and you insist on fighting me hand-to-hand in the attempt to prove it, we will go outside and we will fight. But know this—I have spoken before this Council and all here have heard. Relu 'Chavam offered her life to save mine, and I chose to save hers in return, because while her death might make her a hero, her life will bless not only me, not only the young warriors she will instruct someday, but all of Sanghelios. She is a treasure, a treasure not to be squandered when it can be saved. And if this belief costs me my life than I am prepared to make that sacrifice."

Relu held her breath, waiting for her father's reply.


	6. Chapter 6: My Life For Love

**Rules of Engagement**

**Chapter the Sixth: My Life For Love**

Major Evan Doucette, Humanity's Ambassador to Sangheilios, held his breath as he waited for Councilor Barz 'Chavam's reply.

He was under no illusions as to the outcome of a fight. An ODST against an Elite, hand to hand, was a match already in favour of the alien; with Evan's right hand still in splints from the injury he suffered punching another Sangheili in its gruesome mouth on his wedding night as rebel forces had attempted to kill both Evan and his Sangheili bride, Relu, Evan did not fancy his chances. And that was assuming that the duel did not have further rules which Evan did not know; if the duel was fought with blades, for example, Evan would be impossibly out of his league.

Evan still had trouble reading Sangheili expressions, but from the way the Chavam kaidon's mandibles were fluttering, he could interpret that his adversary was distressed.

"A challenge, once issued, cannot be revoked," the kaidon said quietly.

_Oh, shit._

Evan didn't need his interpreter and assistant, Lor'n 'Malach, to figure out that this was that damned Sangheili honour thing again. If 'Chavam took back the challenge, he—and his entire keep—would utterly lose the respect of the Council. Councilor 'Chavam was clearly not willing to gamble either his good name or his clan's future by admitting he had made an error in haste—by misunderstanding that Evan had demanded a doctor save Relu's life because he valued her enough to risk offending cultural sensibilities, instead of doing it as an insult to her and her sacrifice.

Relu's father did not seem so bad a person, for a Sangheili, and yet Evan was struck by the utter stupidity of this waste. The Sangheili culture simply did not allow for people to admit mistakes. Now Evan would have to fight the Councilor, and probably die, and either way, Relu would have to witness her husband and her father doing their level best to kill one another.

'Chavam stepped closer and bowed his long neck, murmuring words that only Evan could hear.

"Forgive me, human—Ambassador Doucette. You are a fine match for my daughter. I wish you two a long and happy life together once I am buried." He gazed meaningfully at Evan.

Damn these Sangheili and their love of death! 'Chavam was going to throw the match—deliberately permit Evan to kill him—to ensure that only he suffered for his mistake. And yet Relu and Evan would still feel the fallout of this terrible decision.

But Evan had no choice. If that was the kaidon's wish, then he would have to once again step up to a distasteful duty, and slay Councilor 'Chavam.

Then the Arbiter's gravelly voice caused 'Chavam to take a step backwards.

"But a challenge can be _overridden_," the Arbiter said.

The Councilors gasped and murmured.

"Yes, of course," one of them exclaimed. "We would not permit an Unggoy, or a Jiralhanae, to duel a Sangheili on the field of honour. This challenge is invalid!"

"That is no good reason," another Councilor retorted. "Would you dare insult the Ambassador that way? We do not duel the Unggoy because they are weak and stupid; Doucette, who fought off the attackers in his bedchamber, is neither. And we do not duel the Jiralhanae because we would not afford the savages such respect! Our exalted Ambassador deserves the right to defend his honour just as we do!"

_Great_, Evan thought, _I'm glad they respect me enough to get me—or Councilor 'Chavam—killed_.

"This challenge is not being overridden due to lack of respect," the Arbiter said firmly. "Councilor 'Chavam has a long history of battle honours that should make it clear to all in this room that he is no coward. And Ambassador Doucette has proven to us all that he is willing to risk not only his life, but the honour of his species as a whole, for something he believes in. Is that not a greater thing that merely his life?"

All around the room, heads began to nod.

"I believe that the old dueling tradition began, not out of a misguided belief that strength automatically equaled moral correctness—for if such is true, than a chief Jiralhanae is a more moral being than a Sangheili child—but who here would believe such a thing?"

Howls and cries of dissent filled the hall.

"Instead, it is a matter of _conviction_. It is easy to prate and blabber as the Unggoy do, throwing out strings of meaningless words, even insults—but it takes much more to believe so strongly in your words that you are willing to lay down your life in defence of their veracity." The Arbiter drew himself up and let his gaze meet the eyes of every Sangheili in the assembly.

"In ancient times, if two kaidons both felt their people needed, for example, a hunting ground or a boat launch—and both felt that there was insufficient food to share—then it made sense for them to duel for rights. The loser's people would still live to leave their land and wander in search of better hunting or fishing; this would be a hard life, but at least some of them were likely to survive. Not so if they were to both engage in outright conflict until one side was wiped out entirely, and indeed, we know that this happened…but many times the duel between kaidons spared the lives of their people.

"In these times, though, we no longer have the luxury of pitting keep against keep and kaidon against kaidon. Admiral Jar 'Wattin has already declared himself one of those kaidons of old, determined to dedicate his people to wiping ours out. We are one keep, one clan, now. If we slay one another, we hand victory to our foe.

"So, in this moment I, as Arbiter, judge that Ambassador Doucette believes strongly enough in his conviction to fight and die for it. I also judge that he is correct in his statement that our people, our soldiers, are the heart of the new Sangheili Empire, and as such we cannot spend them cheaply, for they are _ourselves_ and our families and what we fight for now. My brothers, today we recognize we fight for _our futures_ and our freedom to choose them, whatever they may be! No longer will others tell us for what and for whom we fight!"

The crowd rose to its feet, roaring, cheering.

The Arbiter turned to Relu's father. "Councilor 'Chavam, do you accept Ambassador Doucette's reasoning?"

The magenta-robed Sangheili dropped to his knees. "I do."

"As we have now judged that Ambassador Doucette is in the right, and you have concurred, there is no need for the shedding of blood, or the shaming of either of these brave warriors. Better that Councilor 'Chavam do what he does best, and continue to lead his people with a strong and steady hand, and better that Ambassador Doucette continue to do what he has already begun—teach us about Humans, and teach Humans about us, so that we might learn from each other's strengths. For if we as a Council stand stronger when we are united, how much stronger will we be if we add the Humans' strength to ours? There will be no force in the galaxy, not the Jiralhanae, not the Parasite, and certainly not Jar 'Wattin's pathetic rebels who will break us!"

As the Sangheili in the Great Hall cheered, Evan knew he was vindicated.

#

It was never truly dark on Sanghelios, but now, in the relative cool of the evening, when one of the suns was down and the largest setting, Evan and Relu sat side by side on a bench beneath a tree, watching the sky light up with shades of orange and lavender. Alien plants waved in the breeze, sending a mixture of scents wafting across the gardens of their home. Evan wondered how long it would take him to get used to the fact that Sangheili flowers did not smell, well, _floral…_there was something in this garden that smelled like a permanent marker, and another bloom with the disconcerting aroma of roasting beef. Relu, however, seemed content as she squinted her eyes and breathed deeply of the air.

Evan took a deep breath and wondered if he dared tell his wife what was on his mind, but when his hand trembled in hers and she peered at him curiously, he knew he would have to answer.

"I'm surprised we're still alive after the week we had," he said.

Relu's mandibles parted in a Sangheili smile. "You are very bold," she said, "to speak to the Council that way. But your courage has been rewarded." Her gaze dropped and she added, "I am glad you did not need to slay my father."

So she had intuited, then, that Councilor 'Chavam would have deliberately lost the duel.

"Me too," he replied, and then drew a deep breath. "Relu? Will you tell me what your father meant? He said you could not have young due to a cowardly accident."

She drew in a hissing breath. "Yes. It is why I volunteered for this duty. I could gain no respect as a warrior because I am female, and no respect as a woman because I am barren. So, I thought to gain honour through sacrifice. But you…you are not what I thought you would be, Evan Doucette, and now I find myself honoured simply to be with you. Still, you spoke truly in the Council chambers. I am not a desirable mate.

"When I was young, my father's brothers had each had several sons, and the children of my own age were all males. They treated me as they treated one another, so I grew up tussling with my cousins. My father, for his part, permitted it, He wished to show to his brothers that his own progeny was as tough as theirs. So, even though I was a female, I learned to fight. My father swelled with pride as I learned to box my cousins' earbuds and send them home to their parents, for I was strong and swift and gifted in battle.

"In time, I began to teach my younger cousins how to fight. My younger male cousins excelled in sparring when they went to school, and my father was proud—but I was jealous, for my older cousins went to War College and to war, and I had to stay home in the keep, learning to tend a household, to use tools, cook food, build walls and oversee the serfs. In my free time I tormented my sisters and taught them to fight as well. When we finally went to Finishing School, we were chastised and punished for quarrelling with our classmates and not behaving as well-bred young ladies ought to behave. My father was ashamed, and we were drilled hard to learn what is expected of a Sangheili female. For my part, I had learned that there was one way to act in front of others' eyes and another way to behave in private, with only my cousins for witnesses. This division grew more difficult as my cousins went off to battle, and I was left behind, unable to express the truth of myself save in solitude, and then…

"Then, in my last year of Finishing School, young men came to court me.

"It is not fair to say that I did not like young men, for I am not one of those who prefers the company of other females. What I did not like was the fact that these warriors pursued me only until I challenged them to spar, and when they laughed and conceded to humour me, I thrashed them soundly. After that they went before my father the kaidon, spitting venom and threatening to tell their own powerful fathers about the virago Barz 'Chavam had spawned. Once it had happened several times, I was called before my father to justify myself.

"I told my father I would not bow to some overweening fool, or suffer a mate who was not my equal, and that if no warrior would marry me as I was, then I would fight on his Home Guard instead. My father sighed sadly and bitterly and said the fault was his, for encouraging my warlike nature and permitting me to wrestle with my male cousins in my youth.

"He looked into my eyes and asked me to forgive him.

"I realized then that my actions were hurting him—straining his credibility with the other kaidons, making him doubt his worth as a parent. I am one of the few Sangheili blessed to have a relationship with my sire and I did not want him to suffer for his unusual willingness to have a hand in my upbringing. So I vowed to do my best to be a proper Sangheili woman and marry well, and turn my efforts to a career as an administrator, craftswoman, and mother, though I felt sick in my hearts at the thought of never again testing my skills against another in the ring.

"Shortly thereafter I received a new suitor from a well-appointed kingdom in the west, the son of a powerful kaidon, and this time I did not challenge him to fight me. He was strong and handsome and seemed decent enough, and if I felt he found my father's status more appealing than he found me, well, ours would hardly have been the first such match. At the urging of my family, I accepted his marriage offer, and my father told me he was pleased. My pride almost burned away my nagging dissatisfaction as it became harder and harder for me to keep my true nature in check.

"I went with my fiance back to his keep, travelling by boat up river—only to find ourselves in the midst of a naval battle in progress. In his absence, his keep's serfs had revolted, running for refuge with the rival keep on the other side of the great lake that bordered their lands. When they launched their navy to attempt to stop the serfs fleeing in little boats, the rival keep's navy came out in force, angry that we had invaded their territorial waters. And now that my future mate had arrived, the lead captain promptly turned control of the battle over to him, and I found myself in the midst of a war at sea.

"My proposed mate was furious when he heard of the rebellion; he ordered his troops to fire on the serfs' boats and sink them. This is when my proposed mate and I had a…a falling out. I made the mistake of reminding him that if we were to use all of our ammunition on sinking the boats, we would have none left to defend ourselves when the enemy fleet came upon us. He told me the other keep had no right to interfere, but when I challenged the lead captain, he admitted that his ships had invaded their waters. My fiancé persisted that he would not go back to his father to confess that the serfs had escaped; he would ruin his soldiers and sink his own ships before admitting that he had failed. And then he turned on me.

"He said he would not be questioned in front of his troops by a female, and I told him that if he were to persist in his madness he would have no troops left to command, and his keep would be left vulnerable to attack by sea. Enraged, he lashed out at me, and I did not see the blow coming, for he did not throw down the challenge as an honourable warrior would have. He simply cuffed me upside the face, as a nanny would to an unruly, biting child, and I staggered backwards in shock.

"It was my misfortune that we stood upon the highest deck, and that the ship heaved as I stumbled. I fell over the railing, down to the vessel's main deck below. Had I not fallen into a box of flour sacks, I would surely have broken my back. And yet the gods had not blessed me, for in the box there was a fishing spear and…"

Relu's voice at last choked off.

"Did you see," she wheezed, sounding half-strangled, "when the doctors worked on me?"

Evan took a deep breath. His first concern had been ensuring that Relu's wounds were being properly tended to; he had felt odd about seeing his new wife, unclothed, lying on the table and covered in her own blood, but he had not trusted the doctors to work, and to remain uninterrupted by others, without himself and Lor'n standing guard over them. It had been hard enough to trust that they had been performing to the best of their ability. Evan had only basic field medicine, and could not judge the quality of their surgery save for the fact that Relu had survived.

So, while he did not want to admit it, given the look on Relu's face, he had to nod. Yes. He had seen the terrible scar on her lower belly.

Relu bowed her head. "I was cursorily stitched up, the most rudimentary care to make sure I survived as they put me on a smaller boat and sailed me back to land. My prospective mate—and his father—feared my father's retaliation should I die in their care. Infection set in, and my life hung in the balance for several weeks. In the end, I survived, but…"

Evan wrapped his hand around hers and stroked it gently. He had guessed what was coming, and though it did not change his opinion of her, he could tell that she was disturbed by it.

"…I was no longer able to bear eggs. I was useless as a mate, and sullied by the filthy touch of the doctor's claws. Disgusted—and more than a little frightened by his own part in the matter—my proposed husband rejected me. The Chavam elders, though angry, accepted the annulment of the marriage proposal, for a barren wife, unable to lay, cannot meet her fundamental duty…" A tear slipped from Relu's eyes.

Evan couldn't stand to listen to it any longer. "You think your only value is in having children? That's…that's ridiculous. There are plenty of Human couples who don't have children _because they don't want to_. And there's no stigma if they can't. I…look, I can't speak for every Human being ever, but where I come from, we marry the people we love. It shouldn't matter if they're a different religion or the same gender or a different culture. Maybe some people care about biological kids, and I…well, I always thought I might have some some day, maybe, but we're different species—we can't have biological kids anyway."

Relu gave him a twisted smile. "Which is the only reason I was an acceptable prospect for your wife—in fact, a desirable one, for I could be faithful to you and not rob the Sangheili of my potential young. And you, as a target for the rebels, could use a virago for a wife." She leaned back and sighed. "In the end I think it was for the best, anyways. My father was very upset that he would never be able to find me a mate, but in consolation he permitted me to join the females of the Home Guard. I excelled, and rose swiftly up the ranks, until his barren daughter became his Home Guard Captain. And yet it always chafed me, that I could not achieve the honours accorded to our males, or venture forth from my keep to do battle, or ever win back what had been taken to me—until I heard that the Human Ambassador would need a Sangheili bride and a bodyguard."

Evan shook his head. "That's not right."

Relu's hand gently closed on his. "Then perhaps together we should see if we can change it," she said softly.

Evan took a deep breath. "I…I know you have the weight of your people's expectations on you. But if you are not happy in this marriage, then I will find a way for you to be freed from it."

The Sangheili's face took on a look of apprehension that Evan swore must mirror his own. "And if I say I doubt I could find a better match?"

He let out his breath. "Then we will make both our people's lives better…together." He leaned over and pressed a kiss to his wife's cheek.

Her hide felt like soft suede, warm with life, and smelled like sea and sand. It was a little awkward, because she was larger than he was, and he had to press his hands on her neck to coax him to stay near. But he did not need to close his eyes to chase away the sight of her many teeth or her taloned hands. "Relu," he murmured softly, his eyes looking into hers. "You are beautiful."

He would probably always consider human women to be more attractive to look at, and yet Relu was a wonder, and she was with him—by her own choice, now, and by his.

She touched her tongue to his cheek, the Sangheili variation of a kiss. He could feel her mandibles moving back and forth against his skin and he did not draw away.

Instead, he reached out for her, and Relu, purring softly, welcomed him.

~finis~

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'd like to thank everyone who followed me through this story.

Upcoming stories: Writing two Halo chapters a month has been a strain on me, so for the rest of the year I'm going to concentrate on finishing "Mercenary Hearts." I'll be returning to "Blood Shadow" in the New Year, and also the second of the "Duels of Honour" duology.


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